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book reviews |
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Multi-genre multi-volume author, Mercedes Rochelle introduces us to her newest historical fiction story, “Heir to a Prophecy”: Shakespeare's Witches tell Banquo, "Thou Shalt 'Get Kings Though Thou Be None". Though Banquo is murdered, his son Fleance gets away. What happened to Fleance? What Kings? The road to kingship had a most inauspicious beginning, and we follow Fleance into exile and death, passing the Witches' prophecy to his son Walter. Born on the wrong side of the blanket and raised in disgrace, Walter was caught inside of a destiny he barely understood. In an effort to untangle Banquo's murder and honor his lineage, Walter moved through events that shaped the course of England and Scotland. His relationships with the great men of his time drove his destiny: Harold Godwineson, Alain of Brittany and finally Malcolm III. After a long and treacherous journey through Wales, England, and France, Walter fulfilled the witches’ prophecy as the first Steward of Scotland and ancestor of James I—for whom Shakespeare wrote Macbeth.  This is an amazing story! I enjoyed the world building and the characters really come to life. An audiobook is a great way to enjoy a marvelous tale. I have read other books by this author and have derived many hours of pleasure from the experience. Listening to the audiobook was so different, I am really glad I used my ears for the story, instead of my eyes. The narrator made a big difference, he performed multiple voices flawlessly. The author’s research is phenomenal, it brings a wonderful foundation to the story. I felt like I was walking with the main character throughout. The heartbreak, joy and anger were easily felt and helped make the story so good! Everything felt so authentic and organic. I award “Heir to a Prophecy” five stars! Such a fabulous experience in the audiobook and a wonderful story overall!  You can buy this book:
https://www.audible.com/pd/Heir-to-a-Prophecy-Audiobook https://smile.amazon.com/Heir-Prophecy-Mercedes-Rochelle-ebook https://www.goodreads.com/book/-heir-to-a-prophecy You can follow the author: http://www.twitter.com/AuthorRochelle http://www.mercedesrochelle.com http://www.mercedesrochelle.net http://www.historicalbritainblog.com I have reviewed two other books by the author: https://www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/a-king-under-siege-book-one-of-the-plantagenet-legacy-by-mercedes-rochelle https://www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/the-kings-retribution https://www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/the-usurper-king https://www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/godwine-kingmaker-part-one-of-the-last-great-saxon-earls-by-mercedes-rochelle https://www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/the-sons-of-godwine https://www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/fatal-rivalry-by-mercedes-rochelle https://www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/the-accursed-king Tags: Medieval, Britain, Scotland, Wales, historical, history, king, queen, royalty, fiction Copyright © 2020 Mark L Schultz except for the author's introduction
99 Comments
1/12/2020 09:26:14 am
Here's a question for Mercedes - what qualities do you look for in a narrator for your books? 1/12/2020 10:30:30 am
That's such a good question! When accessing all the available narrators on Audible, I was originally quite overwhelmed. The easy part was gender, which naturally would match my protagonist. I wanted a voice with an English accent, since my novel took place in England. Then things got complicated! The most important quality to me was intonation; did the narrator emphasize certain words in a sentence that I wanted to hear emphasized—especially in the dialogue. (Since I chose the script, I could nitpick the important passages.) It only took a few words with the wrong modulation for me to eliminate competitors. Kevin gave me a bonus in that he used voices, like an actor, to give my characters life. I fell in love with his Malcolm, and that pushed me over the edge. 1/12/2020 11:36:17 am
I'm surprised that so many narrators were eliminated due to wrong intonation, plus what I consider to be the key to a good narration, giving characters different accents and voices. I can't see the point in narrating in a flat, monotonous voice. Might just as well use a computer to read it!
Mark
1/12/2020 12:34:26 pm
Mercedes, good answer. 1/12/2020 01:31:43 pm
It seems that I have enough current and future projects to firmly "park" myself in Medieval England. I love historical fiction because it gives the reader the opportunity to figure out why things happened, and it gives me, the author, a fantastic plot. As they say, truth is stranger than fiction. Because I love research, my writing gives me the opportunity to indulge myself, and the internet is certainly a vast resource.
Mark
1/12/2020 03:01:25 pm
That must be a good feeling, not having to worry about where the next story is coming from. You have found a very rich vein of high-grade ore. The gold coming out of the smelter is beautiful. I know because I have reviewed two more of your books previously. 1/12/2020 03:22:06 pm
In my writing, as well as my Real Estate career, I view "full time" as the ability to work when the opportunity presents itself (or not, when it doesn't). In essence, I see my writing as seasonal work! I tried neglecting my garden one year in favor of my writing and bitterly regretted it. So now, when the sun shines, I'm out in my garden, and when the weather is bad (like late fall, winter, and early spring) I've got my nose to the proverbial grindstone. It works for me. When I'm doing Real Estate, I'm not writing; neither job creates a steady income, but luckily my spouse is happy to be my patron!
Mark
1/12/2020 03:28:54 pm
Mercedes, that is a very practical point of view. I love it, do the work that is most necessary at the time, the rest will wait. That has to be a big stress reliever. Some stresses are external, others are internal and they can be the worst sometimes. I struggle with that a lot. 1/12/2020 04:38:11 pm
The cover was designed by me, with the help of Henry Fuseli. The witches are a detail from his painting "Macbeth consulting the vision of the armed head" at the Folger's Library in Washington (public domain). Since the novel isn't really about Macbeth, I isolated the witches and placed them in a graveyard, which is where my protagonist first encountered them.
Mark
1/12/2020 05:13:10 pm
That is an interesting story. A book can certainly have many lives.
Mark
1/12/2020 03:31:07 pm
Kevin, have you always wanted to do this type of work? How did you get started being a voice actor? What is the term you use if that is not correct? 1/12/2020 05:21:25 pm
Well, I started actually recording audiobooks a few years before I took early retirement from work, but I always loved reading aloud to my two sons when they were young. I read Lord of the Rings in its entirety twice, once for each boy as they were 5 years apart in age, doing all the voices.
Mark
1/12/2020 05:34:30 pm
I have read LOTR, three times, I am a fan, of course. What you did is on an entirely plane. I think that is quite amazing! I bet your boys loved all that dad time. 1/12/2020 05:46:03 pm
If someone wants to start in narration, they should have some acting experience to start with. After that, a voice coach would be good, and then plenty of practice on Librivox where you can learn a lot about techniques and the technology required to record a good quality recording. There is a website called Gravy for the Brain which is an excellent resource and has a lot of teaching resources for voice over actors, including mentoring. Becoming a good voice actor/narrator is not quick or easy and has a steep learning curve when it comes to the technology, and making a reasonable living at it is a long way down the line.
Mark
1/12/2020 06:03:07 pm
Acting experience makes a lot of sense. Because instead of your whole body and face to carry a story, all a voice actor has is their voice. 1/12/2020 06:22:52 pm
Every publisher is different, I'm sure, and at the time I signed the contract I wasn't thinking about getting my rights back. But, as so many of us have learned, small publishers have small budgets and our books can quickly get lost in the shuffle. In my case, after three years without decent sales, they let me have my rights back as long as I agreed to buy all their remaining stock. I'm happy to say that since I got my rights back, the book has done much better. I decide when and how to promote it, which they rarely did.
Mark
1/12/2020 10:09:22 pm
I think a lot of authors have found themselves in the same spot. Signing with a publisher that does little or nothing to promote and sell the books. I guess the profit margins are so thin, they can't afford to spend the money unless you are a big name writer. 1/13/2020 11:06:28 am
Ha! I used to think seven years was a long time, but the older I get the faster the years pass! Interesting questions about genres. It's a lot easier for me to say which genres I gave up along the way. I started out liking Science Fiction and Fantasy, but once I digested what I thought were the "epitome" of the genre, I lost patience and moved on. (To me, Tolkein was the beginning and the end of fantasy. Not fair, I know.) I was afraid the same thing would happen with historical fiction, but there are so many interesting stories that I continue to love it, though I do get tired of the popular subjects. How many books about Henry VIII can come up with something new? I have yet to find a new genre that captures me now, though I do like the occasional mystery that takes place in an historical period. I still love my fiction before bedtime, and I read my non-fiction in the morning with my coffee (won't put me to sleep!). I have been reading about Richard II and Henry IV daily for the last three years. It's amazing that so much information has been written about them. 1/13/2020 05:02:07 am
I gained my acting experience through over 30 years of performing in a local drama group which had a high professional ethos.
Mark
1/13/2020 09:20:47 am
You are on Audible, Bee Audio and Findaway Voices. For an author, what are the primary differences they should be aware of between these platforms? What are the differences for a voice actor? 1/13/2020 11:06:26 am
Yes I am on all three platforms, but ACX is my main source of work. The difference between them is that ACX offers up titles which any narrators can audition for, whereas the other two rely on the author to select a voice from the various narrators' voice samples on their websites. The narrator then gets offered the book if selected without having to audition. Unfortunately 95% of their work is in the US, so we in the UK get very little work from them. After a narrator is reasonably well established, there are also repeat books from the same author if the author likes your work. This can bypass the ACX audition system as well, and just goes straight to production.
Mark
1/13/2020 01:39:25 pm
Open auditions seem like a good idea. Is there a standard length for the audition?
Mark
1/13/2020 01:49:56 pm
Mercedes, why do so many write about Henry VIII? I find it curious, he gets so much attention. 1/13/2020 02:42:49 pm
As far as fiction goes, this is my only genre. About 30 years ago I composed three art indexes by subject, which were very useful before the internet. Now, of course, they are obsolete. The current book, HEIR TO A PROPHECY is one of four books I've written about 11th century England. This one overlaps with the other three, which are a trilogy. Interestingly, in this book I covered the Battle of Hastings from the Norman point of view, and in FATAL RIVALRY I covered the same battle from the Anglo-Saxon point of view (well, it was interesting for me). After that I jumped forward three hundred years to Richard II; I am in the middle of a 4 book series called "The Plantagenet Legacy" starting with Richard and ending, probably, with Henry VI. I don't really want to get into the Wars of the Roses, so I will stop at poor Henry's death. I think. Haven't gotten there yet!
Mark
1/13/2020 03:40:13 pm
Very good, while history can be boring, fictionalizing around major events make it so interesting, 1/13/2020 02:18:56 pm
Regarding ACX auditions, the recommended length is 2-3 pages or around 3-5 minutes, although some authors put up full chapters! I wouldn't record more than 10 minutes for an audition even if the script was longer. The author can put anything he wants from the book into the audition, and the more savvy authors put up a group of small sections containing all of the main characters so they can hear the various narrators versions of the voices.
Mark
1/13/2020 03:47:58 pm
That makes a lot of sense for an author. Showcasing the major characters. 1/13/2020 04:24:05 pm
Yes it can be tricky to create different voices.
Mark
1/13/2020 04:33:55 pm
All of those voices! That would be quite difficult. You are nearly a miracle worker to keep all the voices separate, especially when multiple parties are in the same scene. 1/13/2020 06:05:00 pm
And there were so many council meetings in that book! It was the best way to do the back story. You did a great job keeping them all straight. It's something I didn't think about while writing the scenes, though now I am more conscious of the audio angle. 1/13/2020 04:42:17 pm
As we talked about before, HEIR TO A PROPHECY was originally published through a small press, along with GODWINE KINGMAKER. GODWINE has performed much better in the marketplace, so they have retained the rights to it. It is my only book you cannot get on Kindle Unlimited, because this program is limited to indies. Alas, the pricing is different too, which is out of my control. I have discovered that without Kindle Unlimited, my sales numbers are considerably smaller, and using another distribution channel (Ingram Spark) did not make up the difference. So there you go! 1/13/2020 05:17:50 pm
On a good day, I spend about 4-5 hours in my recording booth. Around half of those will be actual recording. I can manage about 1-1/2 hours solid speaking before my voice starts to go off. A couple of hours rest and I can probably do the same again. Fortunately most chapters aren't that long, and I take about an hour of recording for a finished half-hour chapter. The rest of the time is spent on editing, mastering and then proof listening to the final file. 1/13/2020 06:10:25 pm
I assume, then, that you don't like to stop in the middle of long chapters? Is it hard to pick up where you left off?
Mark
1/13/2020 10:46:17 pm
I have heard of several British accents, but Geordie and Liverpudlian were not among them that I can recall. 1/14/2020 05:00:06 am
Mercedes - no I don't like stopping in the middle of a chapter and picking it up later. The voice changes too much to make a seamless join.
Mark
1/14/2020 09:17:34 am
Kevin, you get up pretty early like I do. Living in an urban area certainly has its problems. It would take a fair amount of work or money to eliminate all of the extraneous noise. You would probably have to build a room within the attic to solve that problem. 1/14/2020 10:43:04 am
As far as awards go, I'm pleased to say I have been awarded the B.R.A.G. medallion for three of my novels; this is a site only for indies, so I couldn't submit a couple of my books. I'm also proud to be awarded on "Discovering Diamonds". Indeed, applying for awards can be a very expensive proposition in the long run, and I'm not sure it's wise to get caught up in the chase.
Mark
1/14/2020 12:15:29 pm
If any of the books I have reviewed have won awards send me the new cover with the award sticker and I will be happy to change it out. I didn't know that contests are expensive to enter. That makes me think of a post on my Highly Regarded Blogs page by Anne Allen, one of my favorite bloggers, she wrote about bogus contests! Do a search and you will find it easily. 1/14/2020 02:53:57 pm
Your question brings me back to the first books that moved me as a kid. I absolutely loved the Black Stallion series and Lad, A Dog. Obviously I was into animal stories. I even had a poster of Man O'War (the horse!) because of the Walter Farley book of that name. Most girls had posters of teenage heart throbs! I should go back and check him out. 1/16/2020 01:23:18 pm
You said you're not sure if it's wise to chase awards...
Yes, I built the recording booth myself. Not too difficult, once I had the materials. Took a couple of days.
Mark
1/14/2020 12:23:03 pm
It's pretty satisfying to build your own stuff. It's also easier to change or upgrade, if you decide it's necessary. What do you think it would take to make your recording booth immune to the really loud noises? 1/14/2020 12:27:36 pm
I don't think I'll ever be able to get rid of the loud external noises with my current setup. That requires mass to absorb the sound, and I can't do that in the attic! i.e. brick, concrete block etc.
Mark
1/14/2020 01:12:39 pm
That would be quite an undertaking, I am sure. Have you considered spray foam insulation on the outside of your booth?
Mark
1/14/2020 03:08:22 pm
Animal stories are very popular with youngsters. I remember being enthralled with London's Call of the Wild and others. 1/14/2020 06:19:48 pm
I like to think I'm in a big club, including George R.R. Martin who says "I don't like to write, but I like having written," or some facsimile thereof. I don't get any spiritual uplift from writing, nor do I particularly enjoy it. Actually, I take a lot of breaks during my writing session and sometimes I need a nap. I can't control my creative juices; they come and go as they please. I do find that I have an easier time during my editing phase than my first draft, though much of my best stuff is during the treacherous first draft. 1/14/2020 05:16:15 pm
I started recording for Librivox in 2012, and moved on to Audible in Jan 2017.
Mark
1/14/2020 07:14:44 pm
I know a woman who did voice work for commercials on radio and TV. She also did in-store work, pre-recorded announcements when a button was pushed at a need help box. I heard her voice for 10 years when I was shopping. I hope she got a residual for that. 1/14/2020 06:30:51 pm
As for tapping into the character's emotions, I'm not entirely sure that's important in all cases. With first person, it's a no-brainer. You are that person. But if writing in third person—especially third person omniscient—there can be a distance between the character and the author that I think has possibilities. For instance, if writing about Hitler, or Stalin, do we really want to guess what is going on inside their brain? For some reason, I feel like a famous person is unapproachable—like his brain is off-limits.
Mark
1/14/2020 07:07:52 pm
Inspiration, the muse, is very fickle and unpredictable much of the time. Some writers have found different ways to engage it, but it the tricks don't work the same for everyone, it seems. I know one author whose muse is on a schedule, it wakes her at 2:30 in the morning quite often and she has learned to write it down. Sometimes she can even read her handwriting when she wakes up for the day. 1/15/2020 10:11:29 am
With ACX there are now three deal options for production of an audiobook. The first is RS, or Royalty Share, in which 50% of the royalties on audiobook sales go to the author and 50% to the narrator. Obviously the narrator wants to sell as many books as possible to make it worthwhile for the time and effort put into to create the audiobook. The second is PFH, or Per Finished Hour, where the rights holder (RH/author) agrees to pay the narrator x$ per finished hour of recording on completion of the recording. This is better for the narrator on the whole, as it assures a good payment for his time and effort, and is independent of sales. The third option, only introduced a few months ago, is Royalty Share Plus, a combination of the two previous methods, in which the RH pays the author a smaller PFH on completion, and also shares the royalties on sales. This is a good way to attract good narrators. Needless to say, PFH deals are scarce and are snapped up relatively quickly. RS+ deals are just getting established and will probably become more popular. As for other platforms, Findaway, Bee, Tantor etc, they pay the author a negotiated PFH on completion . I can't see any of these systems changing in the forseeable future.
Mark
1/15/2020 10:58:03 am
I hadn't heard of Royalty Sales +, I am glad I asked. I imagine the author picks which one to offer to voice actors. 1/16/2020 01:18:26 pm
My narrator did my first per hour and the second by royalty. She had offered the third with the new program. I would like to make the sales a better deal for her as well as for me. Have you any input in the best way to market a new Audible title? I have codes to give away, but have them priced fairly low to increase exposure. 1/15/2020 11:07:00 am
I'm pretty sure writing historical fiction is different from straight fiction. My first draft is my "get the facts down" draft. Especially with a controversial subject, many of the histories that come down to us are incredibly diverse and full of contradictions. I will tend to surround myself with books (and I do use the dreaded yellow highlighter) and jump from one to the other until I piece together a narrative that makes sense to me for each major episode. Sometimes I have to go really deep into my research—academic journals are the best for scrounging details—before I get the "straight poop". Then I jump to the next major event and do the same thing. I use a lot of dialogue to cover the back story. As a result, my first draft is choppy, but it has all of the important stuff in place.
Mark
1/15/2020 12:02:52 pm
Your system sure works well. The story moves along at a good pace and never gets bogged down. Your academic background has served you quite well without overcoming your writing. 1/15/2020 12:36:55 pm
Narrators are not employed to add sound effects or music. We just do the talking. Searching for suitable music and sound effects would take a lot of time to get right, and a lot of fiddling to get them embedded in the audio file, and as they say, time is money.
Mark
1/15/2020 03:16:25 pm
A voice actor would have to charge more for the music and sound effects, it sounds like. 1/15/2020 12:48:36 pm
Everybody loves a good villain! I truly believe that there is no totally good person, nor is there a totally bad person. How many times have we read that a killer's mother said he was such a good boy? I like the challenge of balancing out both extremes, which you will discover when you get to THE SONS OF GODWINE and FATAL RIVALRY. In HEIR, we really don't have any juicy villains (unless you cast William the Conqueror in that role), but we do have a lot of characters who are a bit tarnished around the edges. That's the way I like it.
Mark
1/15/2020 03:20:45 pm
You like your characters real, I think most readers do, they are far more relatable. We all are a mixture of good and bad. 1/15/2020 04:04:22 pm
To be fair, Siam Storm was a rollicking good story and has a lot of humor, but the first two volumes do contain a lot of explicit sex. The guy who wrote it moved from the UK to Cambodia some years ago and knows the places very well, so you could say it's a tourist guide to SE Asia!
Mark
1/15/2020 06:38:35 pm
Yes, we do have to earn our crusts. No question about that. 1/15/2020 04:50:42 pm
I hate being locked into a routine! That goes all the way back to my school days; I hated getting up in the morning (I still do). So I get my best writing done in the late afternoon, after I finish my marketing and my "day job" stuff. I stand up to write, BTW, like Ernest Hemingway (except he had a typewriter!). I have two computers side-by-side: a desktop on a desk, and a laptop on a little book shelf. I think better on my feet, and it gets me off my rear end. The more I write, the more I stand. And yes, I do write in a straight line. I don't like to jump around; it interrupts my train of thought (unless I've forgotten something). I never do more than one project at a time. Once I finish a sequence, I heave a big sigh of relief then plunge into the next one. Since history dictates my plot, I'm never at a loss—except, sometimes it's hard to figure out how to stop, since the story really goes on, doesn't it?
Mark
1/15/2020 06:44:39 pm
I am different, I like having a routine. It means less for me to think about, because I know what is coming. OTH, I can be very spontaneous. Earlier today, our son called asking for help to fix a cabinet door hinge. I was happy to help him. 1/15/2020 07:16:39 pm
I think I'm more proficient, now. I've learned how to research better. In the old days, when we had very little access to research materials, I ignored footnotes. But while researching my last book, I suddenly discovered how important they were. It took me a while, didn't it? Those footnotes led me to the most important sources I needed, and of course with the internet I could find almost all of them. (If I was an academic, I could access all of them, too. That's a bit frustrating.) As for my writing itself, it's more a matter of practice makes perfect.
Mark
1/15/2020 07:29:54 pm
Footnotes! Who would have thought? Better late than never, I say. 1/16/2020 08:00:31 am
The only thing I do to protect my voice is to religiously warm up my voice before each recording session. It takes about 10 minutes and is well worth the effort. If I don't warm up I find my voice 'goes off' much sooner than if I do.
Mark
1/16/2020 10:39:05 am
What kind of voice exercises do you use to warm up your voice? 1/16/2020 11:07:54 am
In college I majored in the 19th Century novel, and although my tastes have changed, I appreciate what they taught me. Of all of them, Arthur Conan Doyle has stuck with me the most. Did you know he wrote historical fiction? His books "Sir Nigel" and "The White Company" are, in my opinion, some of the best novels about the hundred years' war I've ever read. He also wrote "The Adventures of Gerard" about a hussar in Napoleon's army; these are amusing and really transport you to the period.
Mark
1/16/2020 11:16:43 am
I did not know that about AC Doyle. I do love historical fiction, right after sci-fi and fantasy. There are sub-types of historical fiction that I enjoy, Assaph Mehr writes a fun take on Roman history, by transporting a certain period into a land where magic exists as part of everyday life. 1/16/2020 01:08:19 pm
Mark, I use a phone app called Swiftscales Pro. It has a whole bunch of various voice exercises for singers including warmup exercises.
Mark
1/16/2020 01:18:55 pm
Thank you, Kevin, for sharing so much about what you do. I thoroughly enjoyed your rendition of Mercedes' book. You are very good at what you do. 1/16/2020 05:32:58 pm
Hi Mary. Thanks for checking in! Although you're right about the boost, I can't say that anyone pays much attention to the awards. I do love the B.R.A.G. Medallion people, because they actively promote their writers. And, to be fair, Helen from Discover Diamonds does not charge a fee; I think she's an exception. It seems like the average cost is about $50 per entry, and many of the sites don't even guarantee a return, though I'm no expert at this. I have not seen any significant sales from awards. Have you noticed that the authors who do accumulate awards tend to fill their graphics with the logos, to the point that it looks like clutter? After a while, it seems like the awards are more for the author than the reader. 1/16/2020 06:42:53 pm
I suspected that the hype is more than it's worth. I tend to just look past them to the content I would have looked at before, anyway. Thank you for answering me!
Mark
1/16/2020 07:07:23 pm
Thanks for dropping by, Mary. Those were good questions. It was only last week that I had you in the hot seat. That was a good conversation! 1/16/2020 05:48:36 pm
I'm just a regular MS Word user; Kindle imports word files well, and I export to PDF for my paperbacks. I have tried some of the software out there for catching grammatical errors, etc. but I didn't have any luck. As for characters, writing this book was pretty straightforward, but when I got to the 14th century I was stymied by the plethora of names for each character. Every time someone got a "promotion" (raised to earl or duke), they were thenceforth referred to by their new name. I was constantly referring back to indexes to figure out who was who. Only familiarity got me out of that maze, and I still get tripped up. I ended up giving myself a cheat sheet at the beginning of my manuscript which I referred to.
Mark
1/16/2020 06:13:49 pm
A lot of authors use MS Word, probably for good reason. I have heard good things about Scrivener, but only after climbing the steep learning curve. There are quite a few fans of Scrivener. 1/16/2020 06:32:30 pm
Thanks for the pointer, Mark. I never heard of Ginger! Though I doubt you are in any danger of getting upstaged.
Mark
1/16/2020 07:18:48 pm
I am in no danger anytime soon. Even with the advances of AI, it will be quite some time. Most people are focusing on translations of books. The proponents have found that a human is still required to finesse the nuances of any language. The AI gets about 90% right, depending on the language, which is amazing in and of itself. 1/16/2020 08:20:50 pm
Thanks for the compliment, Mark! I really appreciate that. As for the senses, hearing is nice because it can set a scene; I find that seaside scenes go great with flapping wind and seagulls. I try to include the sense of smell, because in the Spring I'm always sniffing for flowers. But I always seem to forget touch; that's a good one, and shame on me!
Mark
1/16/2020 09:02:06 pm
You have done better than many incorporating the senses in your books. No shame here, adding that sensory experience will make your writing all the better.
Mary L Scholl
1/29/2020 09:40:46 am
Downloaded e:book! 1/17/2020 05:03:19 am
Hi Mary, I missed your earlier post. No I don't really know of any ways to publicize a new audiobook, apart from the free givaway sites on facebook, and maybe Twitter. You say you're keeping the price low for your audible codes - why are you charging for them as they are a free givaway from Audible? 1/17/2020 08:47:28 am
No, I mean the regular price for the audible book is low. I'm HAPPY to give away the promo codes! 1/17/2020 02:02:18 pm
Well, like most of our click-throughs on the internet, I can't remember how I found your site (probably Twitter). But I do remember being impressed by the number of comments your reviews got! It wasn't until later that I discovered this was because of an interview with the author. No matter! I thought you had a clever approach and I jumped on board.
Mark
1/17/2020 05:17:20 pm
I totally get that, with over 400,000 tweets under my belt, my clicking finger is frequently tired. 1/17/2020 05:37:51 pm
My books tend to simmer for years, believe it or not. I don't take on a project unless it hits me on visceral level, and when that happens I'm usually not ready to move on it. For instance, I recently saw a documentary about Shakespeare and the Gunpowder Plot (and the whole James I scenario) and for some unknown reason it really grabbed me. However, I have three more books to write in my Plantagenet series! I'll do some background reading on the subject now and then, and I know it'll be brewing in my head for a long time—hopefully building some sort of plot. When I finished my Godwine series and decided to move on to Richard II (that was brewing for 30 years), I had to start all over again with my research. It took me a whole year to research Richard before I started to write, and it took me another year to write the book. Now that I'm in the middle of the series, I'm already researching book number three while I write number two (since they overlap, it's not difficult) and I expect it will take another year to write the next book. I will go through four drafts before I'm done; my beta readers help after my second draft.
Mark
1/18/2020 12:52:54 pm
I understand that gut feeling in a small way. Sometimes something just grabs you in a special way. 1/18/2020 01:29:10 pm
Good Beta Readers are worth their weight in gold. So far I found them on social media; they are always writers, so can return the favor. We start up a conversation and usually share the same ideas about writing. I got terribly spoiled by my first beta reader who gave me something closer to a line by line edit, which I try to do in return. I don't start with any questions; I'm hoping my beta reader will tell me when there's something missing, when the story doesn't exactly make sense, or when it starts to drag. It helps to exchange Word documents, because there is a great markup (Comments) feature under the Review tab.
Mark
1/18/2020 05:01:32 pm
That is a wonderful, quid pro quo arrangement. That also eliminates my question about how you reward your beta readers. 1/18/2020 05:53:42 pm
Personally? Nothing that I can remember. One of the only books I ever read about writing was Stephen King's "On Writing" (and I read it recently). He said some brilliant stuff, but heck if I can remember any of it! It was worth a read, though.
Mark
1/19/2020 08:49:48 am
Before the internet, every part of the publishing process was harder. Though I am sure that vanity publishers were existing. Regular publishers were more willing to give a new author a chance also. 1/19/2020 10:30:28 am
Ironically, many of my books start with Shakespeare. Macbeth was my favorite play, and I had always wondered what happened to Fleance after he got away from his father's murderers. At the time, I knew nothing about Banquo's relationship to the Stewarts, so it was a revelation to discover that he was considered the ancestor of James I. But how did Shakespeare get from point A to point B? I can only assume that the Jacobean audience knew the back story, but even that baffles me a bit. How much did the average playgoer know about their Scottish king? 1/19/2020 01:43:57 pm
I suspect that most writers, if not all, have to possess an ego that makes them think they have something special to say. Otherwise, why put ourselves through the aggravation? It's inevitable that we're going to take "hits" along the way; some people aren't going to like our work; others may be jealous; still others find fault with the littlest detail. Without an ego, we just wouldn't continue on.
Mark
1/19/2020 03:15:07 pm
Seeking the answers to those questions left hanging by Shakespeare must have been interesting and a little frustrating, due to the dead ends. 1/19/2020 03:58:45 pm
I think that Writer's Block is just an excuse for procrastination. We all do it. I used to beat myself up when I thought I had writer's block, but then I realized that I just preferred to do something else! Like gardening. Like social media (marketing). Like housecleaning (ok, that's a stretch). Sometimes I'd let a week go by without touching my manuscript. I mean, really, who cares if I write or not? If it doesn't get written today, it might get written tomorrow. Once in a while, when I'm really stuck, I'll just make myself a note in the manuscript and skip forward to the next chapter. I'll come back to it in the next draft when I'm better prepared to face whatever's bugging me. And not concerning myself about it is, in a way, the best way to beat it. If it's not a problem, then no need to turn it into one.
Mark
1/19/2020 09:23:31 pm
You use multiple methods to deal with writer's block, I think that is wise. 1/20/2020 11:12:56 am
My favorite question! I think it's something we struggle with every day. How many of us would stick up our noses at Errol Flynn's Robin Hood? We know it's total rubbish, but who cares? It's such a great story. Of course, good storytelling is the crux of the matter. I think an author can get away with stretching the truth —to an extent—if the story is entertaining enough. I don't mean putting characters in the wrong period (unless it's a time travel) or falsifying the outcome of a battle. But I don't have a problem incorporating a legend into a story, if it's been believed for hundreds of years (usually the legend is more interesting than the truth). Or putting the character in a country he probably wasn't visiting at that time (you can always explain in the author's note). Since we are writing fiction, the story comes first. To paraphrase Stephen King, your first job is to entertain someone who had a hard day at work and just wants to relax (see, I did remember something). There are always going to be nit-pickers out there who will castigate you for the wrong piece of clothing or an incorrect word. Forget about them! If your story is good enough, the average reader won't care.
Mark
1/20/2020 12:20:49 pm
A lot of authors struggle with filler words. Search them out is a simple way to improve a story. 1/20/2020 12:38:55 pm
Thanks Mark! You have a great "gig" going here, and it's so interesting to learn more about the authors and how they work. Thanks for taking all the trouble to dig below the surface! Leave a Reply. |
Who am I?An avid reader, typobuster, and the Hyper-Speller. I am a husband, father, and grandfather. Archives
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