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Same DiNamics Books: Writing can be a daunting prospect, what made you decide to share your story with the world?
Joleene Naylor: Thanks so much for having me! I actually planned to just squirrel it away until I randomly posted a chapter on MySpace (that dates this!) and a friend read it and wanted the rest. I finished the book for her, and then she and another friend convinced me that it was really worth doing something with. He even made a mock up paperback and author website to show me how great it would all be!
SDB: Who has influenced you as an author?
JN: VC Andrews for one. I love how she can take a sinister setting and throw something happy into it (like shelves of plushies or the famous construction paper flowers in the attic) and that happy thing somehow makes the whole thing six times more sinister because of the contrast. I also love how her characters are never good and bad – the grandmother is “bad” but later when you get the book in her point of view it turns the tables on your perceptions of her. CG Coppola is another one I try to emulate. I originally didn’t pay much attention to where my chapters ended, then I read her books and noticed that I literally could not put them down. Part of it is awesome writing, and part of it is because she ends almost all of her the chapters in an “I must know more!” moment.
SDB: What is your writing method? Do you outline first or do you purge your brain on paper until your story is told?
JN: I have a vague idea of things before I start, for instance on the next book I sort of know what the general end has to be – who they need to defeat – and I have a couple of deaths in mind, and I am playing with three different outcomes for some side characters that might or might not happen, but that’s about all I have. I usually use the events I KNOW have to happen to map backwards – like if they need to fight Lilith it means they need to find Lilith, so I ask myself “How will they find her” and work backwards. There’s also a lot of improvising.
SDB: How long does it take you to write your story, from getting it down on paper to publishing?
JN: Sadly I manage about one book a year. I’m hoping to have two this year – Patrick’s prequel novel needs edited and I hope to have it all done by October, and then Goddess of Night will be released March 31, 2017.
SDB: Can you tell me a little bit about your book(s) without giving away too much? Why should I read it?
JN: Amaranthine is an adult vampire series – no sparkles here – but it’s not erotica. Sure, there’s romance, and there’s some sex, but there’s a lot more; battles, death, betrayal, mystery, suspense, ancient legends, and a hint of mythology, all painted in the color of shadows and scented like blood.
SDB: How much of yourself is in your character(s)?
JN: I suppose there must be some of me in all of them or I couldn’t write them, though that’s a scary thought. Katelina and I are actually getting more alike as she progresses, but there are still a lot of times when I roll my eyes and think “seriously”? My favorites to write are Verchiel (the enigmatic redhead that drives everyone crazy) and Malick (the megalomaniac). Hopefully they’re not the most like me!
SDB: What advice would you give to an aspiring author?
JN: Don’t aspire; do. We all have things we’re “going” to do – someday I will learn animation for instance – but we put it off and use excuses to mask the fact that we don’t think we’re really good enough. If you have a story inside you, then it IS good enough and YOU are good enough. Write it. Even if you have to text it to yourself in pieces. Don’t let fear stop you. Sure, there are going to be people who don’t like it, who don’t like you and who don’t like whatever publishing method you choose, but what matters more than those who don’t is those that do. And someone will.
SDB: Is there anything else that you'd like to share?
JN: I love to download free reads, and I love to put out free reads. Sadly, Amazon doesn’t like to price things to free. The first book in the series (Shades of Gray) is free everywhere, but some of the other stories that are meant to be free are $.99 on Amazon. So always check Smashwords’ price before you download any of the supplemental materials (like the Vampire Morsels short story collection or the Tales from Island Collection) to make sure you’re getting it at the cheapest price.
- Shades of Gray (Amaranthine Book 1)
- Legacy of Ghosts
- Ties of Blood
- Ashes of Deceit (Amaranthine Book 4)
- Heart of the Raven (Amaranthine Book 5)
- Children of Shadows (Amaranthine) (Volume 6)
- Clash of Legends (Amaranthine Book 7)
- Masque of the Vampire (Amaranthine Book 8)
Same DiNamics Books: Writing can be a daunting prospect, what made you decide to share your story with the world?
Joleene Naylor: Thanks so much for having me! I actually planned to just squirrel it away until I randomly posted a chapter on MySpace (that dates this!) and a friend read it and wanted the rest. I finished the book for her, and then she and another friend convinced me that it was really worth doing something with. He even made a mock up paperback and author website to show me how great it would all be!
SDB: Who has influenced you as an author?
JN: VC Andrews for one. I love how she can take a sinister setting and throw something happy into it (like shelves of plushies or the famous construction paper flowers in the attic) and that happy thing somehow makes the whole thing six times more sinister because of the contrast. I also love how her characters are never good and bad – the grandmother is “bad” but later when you get the book in her point of view it turns the tables on your perceptions of her. CG Coppola is another one I try to emulate. I originally didn’t pay much attention to where my chapters ended, then I read her books and noticed that I literally could not put them down. Part of it is awesome writing, and part of it is because she ends almost all of her the chapters in an “I must know more!” moment.
SDB: What is your writing method? Do you outline first or do you purge your brain on paper until your story is told?
JN: I have a vague idea of things before I start, for instance on the next book I sort of know what the general end has to be – who they need to defeat – and I have a couple of deaths in mind, and I am playing with three different outcomes for some side characters that might or might not happen, but that’s about all I have. I usually use the events I KNOW have to happen to map backwards – like if they need to fight Lilith it means they need to find Lilith, so I ask myself “How will they find her” and work backwards. There’s also a lot of improvising.
SDB: How long does it take you to write your story, from getting it down on paper to publishing?
JN: Sadly I manage about one book a year. I’m hoping to have two this year – Patrick’s prequel novel needs edited and I hope to have it all done by October, and then Goddess of Night will be released March 31, 2017.
SDB: Can you tell me a little bit about your book(s) without giving away too much? Why should I read it?
JN: Amaranthine is an adult vampire series – no sparkles here – but it’s not erotica. Sure, there’s romance, and there’s some sex, but there’s a lot more; battles, death, betrayal, mystery, suspense, ancient legends, and a hint of mythology, all painted in the color of shadows and scented like blood.
SDB: How much of yourself is in your character(s)?
JN: I suppose there must be some of me in all of them or I couldn’t write them, though that’s a scary thought. Katelina and I are actually getting more alike as she progresses, but there are still a lot of times when I roll my eyes and think “seriously”? My favorites to write are Verchiel (the enigmatic redhead that drives everyone crazy) and Malick (the megalomaniac). Hopefully they’re not the most like me!
SDB: What advice would you give to an aspiring author?
JN: Don’t aspire; do. We all have things we’re “going” to do – someday I will learn animation for instance – but we put it off and use excuses to mask the fact that we don’t think we’re really good enough. If you have a story inside you, then it IS good enough and YOU are good enough. Write it. Even if you have to text it to yourself in pieces. Don’t let fear stop you. Sure, there are going to be people who don’t like it, who don’t like you and who don’t like whatever publishing method you choose, but what matters more than those who don’t is those that do. And someone will.
SDB: Is there anything else that you'd like to share?
JN: I love to download free reads, and I love to put out free reads. Sadly, Amazon doesn’t like to price things to free. The first book in the series (Shades of Gray) is free everywhere, but some of the other stories that are meant to be free are $.99 on Amazon. So always check Smashwords’ price before you download any of the supplemental materials (like the Vampire Morsels short story collection or the Tales from Island Collection) to make sure you’re getting it at the cheapest price.
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ReplyDeleteThanks SO much for having me, lol (darn auto correct)
ReplyDeleteThanks SO much for having me, lol (darn auto correct)
ReplyDelete