Author Interview|| Andrea K Höst

Andrea K. Host is the author of the Silence of Medair series along with several other books. Even if you don't read self-published books this one is definitely a must- read.

Born in Sweden and raised in Australia, she currently lives in Sydney. She writes fantasy, but wanders occasionally into science fantasy. Her novel "The Silence of Medair" was a finalist for the 2010 Aurealis Award for best fantasy novel. 

Andrea was kind enough to spare some time to give us an interview about publishing and publicizing books. Writers, read up, there are some really helpful tips in here!





TSD: After having bad experience with a publisher (details), you decided to self-publish ‘The Silence of Medair’. The decision was proven to be a good one as the book went on to be a finalist for the Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel 2010. When you made the decision to self-publish, did you know that your book would make it?

Not at all. It was a huge and delightful surprise for me to make the finals of the Aurealis. At the same time 'making it' as a writer covers a lot of different goals. I think my first fan letter, my first positive review – not to mention my first royalty cheque – were also little 'making it' milestones for me.


TSD: How was your self-publishing experience? Did the pros outweigh the cons? Would you recommend it?


Andrea: I really enjoy self-publishing. It's had very few negatives for me, and for the most part has involved gradually building a readership and being buoyed up by support.The decision to self-publish is an individual one – different people want different things out of their writing – but for anyone who likes a hands-on approach, who can take the long-term view on gaining a readership, or who just wants to get their work out there, there's not a lot of reasons to not self-publish.


TSD: You take out time to reply to emails. How does that affect your relationship with your readers?

Andrea: I guess that depends on how well I answer the emails! Getting mail from my readers is a special experience for me – hearing how my stories have touched people, or just being asked for more. I always feel a little daunted trying to draft a response, but I hope that I don't come across as too much of a prat in my replies!

 TSD: What do you find to be the most successful technique of publicizing your books?

Andrea: Free first book in a series. There is nothing that compares.


TSD: What aspect of your writing are you most proud of?

Andrea: Gosh – that's a difficult question! I like messing with expectations. Not plot twists so much as building my worlds just a little bit left of centre. I particularly like to write egalitarian worlds, giving my female characters challenges that don't revolve around what women are and aren't allowed to do in a restrictive culture. While stories about coping with restrictive cultures, and stories about "a girl can do that too", are both important, these particular narratives almost completely dominate stories revolving around women. I like to read – and write – stories exploring different challenges for my female characters.


 TSD: Do you think all your hard work and determination paid off? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Andrea: I think that I'm really lucky that the internet and e-readers came along and gave me all these opportunities. The past few years of self-publishing have definitely given me plenty of emotional highs – and a nice income supplement as well.


I'd love to be writing full time in ten years, but even if that's not the case, I hope to see myself with, well, ten more books out! A book a year is about my speed. No matter what the future holds with the constantly changing face of publishing, I know I'll want to keep on writing.

 Thank you Andrea for taking out the time=) We'll keep reading as long as you keep writing!

Additional links:
Andrea's Website
Check out The Silence of Medair
Check out Hunting

Author Interview|| Gina Damico

About Gina Damico

I grew up under four feet of snow in Syracuse, New York. I received a degree in theater and sociology from Boston College, where I was active with the Committee for Creative Enactments, a murder mystery improv comedy troupe that may or may not have sparked my interest in wildly improbably bloodshed. I have since worked as a tour guide, transcriptionist, theater house manager, scenic artist, movie extra, office troll, retail monkey, yarn hawker, and breadmonger. I live in Boston with my husband, two cats, and a closet full of black hoodies

TSD:  Thank you for agreeing to do this interview. Can you start by telling us about your books and who you wrote them for?

Gina: I am the author of the Croak trilogy - CROAK, SCORCH, and ROGUE - which are about a teenage girl who finds out that her uncle is a grim reaper, and that it's her turn to learn the family business. I don't know that I wrote them "for" a specific audience, but rather wrote them in the style and voice that I think is fun to write - lots of snark, plenty of excitement, and even some heartbreak along the way. I guess I just knew that there would be an audience out there for some funny, dark, deathy adventures.

TSD: Nowadays, YA is a very popular genre. Did you grow up reading YA? What are your opinions about the conditions of the genre at present?

Gina: I read all kinds of things growing up - some books primarily targeted towards teens, but also plenty of classics and TONS of Kurt Vonnegut. And I think YA is in a wonderful state at the moment. There's something for everyone, and there are so many talented authors out there. It's really a very exciting time to be writing.



TSD: Which character do you connect most to? Do you base your characters on real people?
Gina: I suppose I connect most to Lex - she's sarcastic and spunky, and I like to think of her as a younger, much braver version of myself. Unlike Lex, however, I don't go around punching people. As for inspiration for my characters, I sort of pick and choose from all sorts of places. I take a little bits from people that I know, then mix them in with other fictional characters, celebrities, you name it. They all come together in a delicious character stew. Mmmm. Stew.

TSD: How does you’re the idea of the afterlife you have created communicate to your younger readers?
Gina: One thing that I've really enjoyed is hearing from my readers about how my books have affected their view of the Afterlife--or that it got them even thinking about it at all. I didn't set out to prompt this sort of discussion--and I don't even know if I believe in it myself -- but It's such a wide open unknown that it's fun to hear about what other people envision.



TSD: Advice for aspiring writers
Gina: Let other people read your work. It's the hardest thing in the world to do, putting your words out there for others to judge, but in the end, hearing other people's feedback is an absolutely necessary part of writing. Just bite the bullet, throw some pages at them, and run! (Just make sure you come back to listen to what they have to say.)

Thank you so much Gina, you have really inspired us a lot.

You can buy Gina's book Croak( Croak Trilogy#1) from:

Amazon.com|| Amazon.co.uk

IndieBound|| BookDepository

A Dance with Dragons: By George R.R. Martin || Book Review

 

 

Blurb:

In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance once again-beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has three times three thousand enemies, and many have set out to find her. Yet, as they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind. To the north lies the mammoth wall of ice and stone-a structure only as strong as those guarding it. There, Jon Snow, 998th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, will face his greatest challenge yet. For he has powerful foes, not only within the Watch, but also beyond, in the land of the creatures of ice. And from all corners, bitter conflicts soon re-ignite, intimate betrayals are perpetrated, and a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some will fail, others will grow in the strength of darkness. But in a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all…

 

INTRODUCTION: I came across the A song of Ice and fire saga by GRRM about 6 years ago probably just around the time when A feast for crows came out. At the time I was rather new to Fantasy with only a handful of authors like Feist, Brooks, Tolkien…. Under my reading belt, suffice it to say that my reading experience in fantasy was rather limited and starting out I tended to favor books heavy on action and sorcery rather than characterization and dialogue.

So, my first impressions of ASOIF were like its good but damn slow' and please 'A little less conversation and a little more action'. Therefore I read the first four books in the series albeit without the enthusiasm most fantasy fans show for the books although I couldn't just drop off reading the series too(even then I had more sense than that, thankfully!)

My interest was rekindled this year when the TV series of Game of Thrones came out which was truly excellent and quite captivating with a great cast and fabulous script apart from the high budget feel.

ANALYSIS: A dance with dragons is the fifth Book in the series and a rather hefty book (more than 1000 pages). Starting to read I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of writing something I had'nt recognized 6 years ago, Martin pulls readers into his fantastical world with skillful worldbuilding, masterful characterization and memorable dialogue. Martin uses a rotating POV structure to pull his narrative, that works very well, with major characters getting more 'screen time' than other characters who are less focal to the narrative. Amongst the most featured are Daenerys, Tyrion, Jon, Stannis with Cercei, Arya, Bran and Jaime featuring for smaller amounts of time respectively.

I found Tyrion to be my most favorite character this time around, his bawdy character making for very interesting reading, every time Tyrion said something obscenely hilarious Peter Dinklage sprang to mind whose portrayal of Tyrion LAnnister in the TV series is certainly award worthy. Tyrion's troubles have incrased exponentially; with no more lannister gold to compensate for his stature he has only his sharp wits and tongue to get him through tough spots.

Daenerys's rule of Mereen is one full of challenges and the portrayal is very near to reality, with the conquering of the city being shown as the easy part and the administration of the said city far from it. Her decisions are shown to carry ripples across the peninsula. The abolition of slavery leads to many complications that are very well handled by Martin. Daenerys's character matures much this time around with her making many decisions she finds distasteful and with her sacrificing her on her own principles for the good of the people.Daenerys's Dragons for me were one of the best done parts of the novel. GRRM's dragons are more real than any others I've come across, the repercussions of their return into the world and some insight into why Dragons are so significant to would be conquerors are very well written by the author.

In the North, Jon's part this time around was major to the story line overall, but for me the least interesting. Winter is almost come and Jon is shown trying to integrate the wildlings and the Night Watch together to make common cause against the Others, but he faces much opposition for his own brothers as well as Queen Selyse, making for too much bickering for my taste. Stannis, the King on the Wall, is intent on gathering the northern Lords to his cause, with the Northern Lords divided between him and the Boltons. The complications arising from the intermixing of people from diverse religions adds something new to the series.

A dance with dragons is a roller coaster ride with lots happening. The rotating POV structure makes this feeling of smooth flow even more prominent, with Martin moving to another POV before the first becomes boring. Since these POV's take place across the whole huge and sprawling world of ASOIF, it gives the narrative a very epic feel.

The series is known for its twists and turns and complete shockers, in this Dance is no different. GRRM will keep his reputation for being very cruel to his protagonists, and a shocking aspect about the Stark children is revealed.

A dance with Dragons is a very entertaining book, the pages turn by themselves and oft times I found myself appreciating the writing, the dialogue or laughing out loudly at Tyrion's japes. There are a number of great lines with "words are wind" being a very common phrase. There are many other great lines for example:

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one."

 

The book builds to probably the most crucial battle in the ASOIF series. But unfortunately, in spite of the its length the Book ends on a disappointing note, with a number of cliffhangers that may not lead up to climax for 3-4 years at the least. GRRM says that the last 100 or so pages had been taken out to kick-start The Winds of Winter i.e. the sixth book in the series, but we have a long and frustrating wait ahead of us before we'll see any of the major plot threads being wrapped up.

Inspite of these difficulties A Dance with Dragons will remain one of the best fantasy books to come out this or any year and come year's end will be on my own and many other's top lists.

 

Buy from:

Amazon.com || Amazon.co.uk

IndieBound || BookDepository