Wednesday Debut Interview: TREASURE AT LURE LAKE by Shari Schwarz

For today's Wednesday Debut Interview, Shari Schwarz will be talking with us about her debut MG novel, TREASURE AT LURE LAKE

First off, tell us a bit about yourself!
Thank you for having me on Operation Awesome! I love visiting this blog and even was a winner of one of your Mystery Agent contests a while back, so I’m a huge fan!

I’m a wife and mom of four boys ages 16, 14, 11 and 4. We live in Ft. Collins, Colorado and love being so close to the mountains where we like to hike and camp. I grew up in Batavia, IL, a suburb of Chicago, but my family would often vacation in Colorado, so I had a love for rock-climbing, mountain biking and hiking early on. Before I started writing in earnest, I coached gymnastics for several years, and then I got my teaching degree and worked as an elementary librarian and started a garden at the school. Now I stay home with our youngest, write and freelance edit.


Tell us about your book. What's your elevator pitch for TREASURE AT LURE LAKE?
If I pitch to someone who I know is a reader or writer, I say it’s HATCHET + IF I STAY. Otherwise, I say it’s about two brothers who have never understood why they don’t get along. They go on a backpacking trip into the wilderness with their grandfather, and when disaster strikes, the boys have to learn to work together to survive.


Is Lure Lake a real place? Is it based on somewhere in particular?
No one has asked me this yet! Lure Lake is not a real lake, but it is based on one of my favorite hiking destinations in the Northern Colorado Rockies: American Lakes. The hike up the trail that the boys take in the book is based on the Big South trail, but I set it heading in the opposite direction and further into the wilderness, because the Big South is too well-traveled. I needed something a bit more remote for Jack and Bryce.


Why middle grade? Is there a reason you choose to write to this audience?
I had been an elementary librarian previous to writing Treasure at Lure Lake, so I was working with this genre all the time. Plus, my own boys were reading MG books at the time, and I was reading a lot of them. I was hoping to write something that was a quick, easy read, but exciting at the same time.


Let's talk a bit about your publishing journey. How long as this process taken for you, from the first draft until publication date?
In total, it took two years and four months. I started writing the first draft on December 10, 2013. I wrote it in two months and to be honest, I had NO clue what was ahead of me in terms of revising, critique partners, and least of all, querying. But I jumped in with both feet, made a lot of mistakes, had a lot of wonderful people help guide me, entered a ton of contests, and met some amazing writer friends along the way. I kept a detailed log of all my queries and responses. In just over a year, I tallied up 100 rejections before my YES came! At the end of May 2015, I received a contract for publication through Cedar Fort. After a lot of questions to some of their authors and looking into the legal side of the contract, I said yes to them. It took me until September of 2015 to finish the first round of major edits with my acquiring editor, Ashley Gephart, and then my book comes out on April 12th, 2016. I’m a bit on the fast track with writing my first book, but I don’t have an agent, so it will be back to square one soon!


Every writer experiences some rejection and setbacks along the way. How did you learn to cope with them and move on?
Yes, there were some really hard times through the querying process and some rejections that stung much more than others. But the things that kept me sane were my critique partners who were amazing and kept cheering me on. Reading about other writers’ journeys here on OA and other blogs helped me realize that this isn’t easy for anyone. I also wrote two more books, several picture books and went for some long walks and hikes which helped clear my mind and gave me a new perspective.


What makes Cedar Fort Publishing and your editor(s) there a good fit for you and your book?
Everyone I have worked with at Cedar Fort has been exceptionally kind, responsive, skilled and helpful with each step along the way. They produce high quality books with gorgeous covers. My book is intended for national release which they are expanding into and not just for their LDS markets. The contract was great and they were willing to negotiate on a couple of points that I had questions on. I felt that they really had my best interest at heart. My editor, Ashley Gephart, is brilliant, kind and always got back to me with my hundreds of questions. I loved that my editor was so accessible.

Tell us about your cover. I love the rustic feel! How much say did you have in it? What do you want it to tell potential readers?
Thank you! I love it too! Before they ever created my cover, Cedar Fort gave me a questionnaire, wanting to know if I had thoughts, ideas, or opinions about how it should look. I love that I had some say in it, but it came out so much better than I could have imagined. I cried when I saw it. They sent me a few different versions to ask which my favorite was. There were also a couple of minor things that needed to be changed at that point. One was that the profile of the bear was a grizzly bear instead of a black bear. An easy mistake to make, but since there aren’t any grizzlies in Colorado, it had to be changed, which they were more than happy to do.

Was TREASURE AT LURE LAKE the original title you had in mind for this book?
No, it wasn’t. I had used the working title of THE LEDGE. I personally never intended for that to be the final title, but some people had become attached to it and reacted strongly when they saw the change. Cedar Fort wanted something more geared to the Middle Grade audience. But, I did work THE LEDGE into the book in the acknowledgments! I was happy about that.

Can you tell us about some of the things you’ve been working on between signing a contract for this novel and its release? What about the post-book-deal process been most surprising for you?
I have worked on another MG which I decided to shelve for now because my next big goal is to find an agent for my picture books. I’m pretty focused on wanting to go more in the PB world. I now agree with many writers that PBs are harder to write than anything. The most surprising thing about the post-book-deal process is how much work and how many people it takes to write a book! And book promotion…it is endless. Luckily, I have been able to team up with The Sweet 16s which is a debut MG/YA author group. I can’t imagine doing this alone! I thought that, because I am with a smaller publisher, I would have to do so much more work that the authors with large publishers have to do, but that’s not the case. We all have to promote our own books in many ways. Although Cedar Fort and the other publishers do some things to help, being in a debut group allows us to promote each other as well, which is wonderful!

How does it feel to finally have your book out in the hands of readers? Do you have any events planned you want people to know about?
It is, in equal parts, exciting, frightening, and surreal. I can’t believe that this is really happening at times. Other times, when my friends and family are celebrating with me, I’m thrilled that I’ve accomplished a life-long dream. And there are times when I am so nervous, because now my ‘baby’ is out in the world for people to read (yay!) and to judge (oh, no!). But my hope is that it will resonate with that one person who needs to read it. If that happens, it will all have been worth it!


Is there any other advice you'd like to pass on to others pursuing publication? Anything you would have done differently?
All the way through, I think it’s important to be kind and respectful and open to anyone who crosses your path. There are so many people who have helped me become the writer I am today…even that one guy who gave me a horribly mean critique on one of my first drafts. In the moment it was hard to accept, but I’ve learned to see what truth there was even in something like that. I’ve learned to be open to it all but not to let it all change who I am or the stories I want…no, need to tell. There are probably a thousand things I should have done differently, but when I think about redoing any of them, I think, no. Those mistakes are what got me to where I am today. They were all learning lessons, and hopefully, I can use them to help others in the future.


Excellent advice.
And, just for fun, which book in your own collection do you think your hero Bryce would most enjoy?
I’m going to answer this for both Bryce and Jack since the book is told in dual-POV. They both should read HATCHET by Gary Paulsen. Bryce would just plain-old enjoy it, the geek-survivalist that he is. Jack, on the other hand, really needs to read it to learn the survival skills from it.

Thank you so much for your participation in this Wednesday Debut Interview!

Wednesday Debut Interview: WITHOUT BORDERS by Amanda Heger

Today's Wednesday Debut Interview features Amanda Heger, who's talking to us about her debut YA novel, WITHOUT BORDERS!

First off, tell us a bit about yourself!

Hey, Operation Awesome! I’m a book-loving, dog-owning, Sour Patch-eating author from the Midwest. I have a massive girl crush on Amy Poehler, and one of my life goals is to adopt a pig and name it Ron Swineson.

That is a fabulous name for a pig! So, tell us about your book. What's your elevator pitch for WITHOUT BORDERS?

In a last-ditch attempt to pad her medical school resume, Annie London travels to rural Nicaragua to volunteer with a medical brigade. But over the course of her four-week stay, she gets a lot more than she bargained for—including a blossoming romance with the doctor in charge of the trip.

Have you ever been to Central America? How much of your own experiences are echoed in Annie's?

I have! Without Borders is set in the North Atlantic Autonomous Region of Nicaragua, a place that’s very near to my heart. In college, I spent a summer there as a volunteer with a public health organization. I taught sex ed in local schools, organized classes on domestic violence, and traveled with a medical brigade. It was an experience that changed my life in a few big ways and a hundred little ones. A lot of the day-to-day experiences I had there are echoed in Annie’s journey, but the romance is very much a fictional one. There were no butterfly-inducing kisses with sexy doctors in the real life version of this story. (Sadly.)

I’ve also traveled to other parts of Latin America, including Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, and Brazil. But those trips didn’t really influence my story beyond a general love of travel.

Let's talk a bit about your publishing journey. How long as this process taken for you, from the first draft until publication date?

Oh, the waiting. And the waiting. And the waiting. It never ends. I wrote the first words of Without Borders in February of 2013. The book comes out in April of 2016. If you’re bad at math (like me) that’s more than three years of writing and editing and finger-crossing and crazy-making.

Every writer experiences some rejection and setbacks along the way. How did you learn to cope with them and move on?

Alcohol.

Kidding.

Kind of.

The real answer is that I’m still learning to deal with it. I’d be a lying-liar-who-lies if I said rejections and setbacks don’t bother me anymore. But having good author friends in my corner—people who have been through this mess we call publishing and understand the frustrations—has helped so much. They cheer me on when things go well and talk me down from the ledge when I feel like publishing is conspiring to ruin my life.

What makes Diversion Publishing and your editor(s) there a good fit for you and your book?

Diversion was willing to take a chance on me and my out-of-the-box stories. When other publishers said they didn’t think readers would buy a book set in Nicaragua, Diversion said they’d find a way. When I said “Oh, and by the way book two is going to be about a fake late night talk show because I’m obsessed with Craig Ferguson,” my editor said “works for me.”  And when I completely changed course on book three and decided to write a same-sex romance, no one batted an eye. They give me the freedom to write the stories I want to write, which is basically an author’s dream.

Tell us about your cover. How much say did you have in it? What do you want it to tell potential readers?

My cover came about in a really cool way. I was browsing a stock photo website for something unrelated and came across a photo that really captured the tone and mood of Without Borders. I sent a link to the art director with a note that said something like “I may be way overstepping here, but what do you think about using this on the cover?” A few months later, the cover showed up in my inbox using the photo I’d suggested. (But made better with magic and Photoshop.)

Covers can say so much about what a book is or isn’t. I hope this one says tells readers Without Borders is a romance with a strong sense of setting. I also hope its gorgeousness hypnotizes them into buying the book. (You are getting sleepy. Really sleepy. You want to buy Without Borders. Is it working?)

Totally works. It makes me want to buy this book and go read it on some picaresque hike somewhere. Was WITHOUT BORDERS the original title you had in mind for this book?

Hahahaha. No.

For a long time, I called the manuscript “that thing” because I couldn’t come up with a title. One day, a friend jokingly called it Playing Doctor and that stuck for a little while. When I started to query, I knew I needed a different name, because the book isn’t nearly as hot as Playing Doctor implies. I eventually settled on Thirty Días because the book took place over Annie’s 30 days in Nicaragua, with each day as a separate chapter. Once I signed with my agent, we went back to the drawing board because neither of us were crazy about the title. We were brainstorming one night and she said “We need something that calls up images of Doctors Without Borders.” And I said, “How about just Without Borders?”

Boom. Teamwork, guys. Teamwork.

Can you tell us about some of the things you been working on between signing a contract for this novel and its release? What about the post-book-deal process been most surprising for you?

We sold Without Borders as the first of three books, but I’d never planned on spinning it into a series. So as soon as we sold the book, I started working on book two. It’s been written and edited, so now it’s just waiting to become a “real book.” (Insert Pinocchio voice here.) Book two is a standalone, starring a secondary character from Without Borders. It’s called Semi-Scripted and will be out in the fall. Now I’m working on the final book in the series, which is tentatively scheduled for release in the first half of 2017.

Something that’s really surprised me is how different everyone’s publishing process is. Some publishers give their authors a ton of input on the covers, some get none. Some editors do two or three or four rounds of edits, some do one. Some publishers do first pass pages, some send the book to print directly after copy edits. There is no one accepted process to get a book on the shelf.

How does it feel to finally have your book out in the hands of readers? Do you have any events planned you want people to know about?

It’s surreal. Completely and freakishly surreal. The first time I saw a copy of it on someone else’s Kindle, I cried. When strangers started leaving thoughtful reviews on Goodreads, I cried. Basically, there’s been a lot of crying going on here.

As I write this, events are still being planned and finalized. But as they come together, I’ll be sure to update my website and Facebook pages.

Is there any other advice you'd like to pass on to others pursuing publication? Anything you would have done differently?

Find your people. The critique partners and beta readers who get your stories. The friends who will listen to you whine about getting shot down at acquisitions. The ones who will send you random gifs of Zach Morris when you’re having a crappy day. They’ll make this journey a hundred times more bearable. Sometimes they’ll even make it fun.

If I had a time machine, I’d go back to 1992 and tell my fifth-grade self to rethink that whole pink polka-dotted overalls look. Then I’d fast forward to 2013 and 2014 and tell my Without Borders-writing self to trust my gut. When I first started writing, I tried to take every bit of advice and incorporate every suggestion. Yeah, maybe that version of the story had no passive voice or adverbs or whatever. But it also had no voice. Since then I’ve learned to trust myself and let my voice shine through—even if that means it’s flawed and has more “to be” verbs than some prefer. My stories are better for it.

And, just for fun, which other YA hero/heroine from a different book/series would your main character Annie most like to go on vacation with?

Cath from Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl. I think they’d bond over what it means to leave an ill parent behind to pursue their own dreams. And Cath is just a kickass character all around.

Thank you so much for your participation in this Wednesday Debut Interview!

Wednesday Debut Interview - Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard

Our first Wednesday Debut Interview of 2016 is Sara Barnard, here to talk with us about her debut YA novel, BEAUTIFUL BROKEN THINGS!

 

Welcome! First off, tell us a bit about yourself!
I live on the south coast of the UK, just outside Brighton - where I lived for five years - in a small town with my boyfriend and my tuxedo cat. When I'm not writing books I'm a freelance content professional, which means I help companies with their online materials and websites. I'm a big reader, strident feminist and somewhat-lapsed Quaker.


How would you describe BEAUTIFUL BROKEN THINGS?
Beautiful Broken Things is a platonic love story about best friends. It follows three girls - Caddy, Rosie and Suzanne - as they learn about the world and each other. Along the way there's tears and giggles, beaches and Nandos, trauma and survival. And a lot of hugging.


Let's talk a bit about your writing process. How long has it been from the time that you began the first draft of this book until the date of its publication?
A long time! I wrote the very first version of this book when I was 13, which was 15 years ago now. It's obviously gone through a lot of incarnations since then - and so have I! I'm glad now that it took its time coming; it was worth the wait!


What scene, character, or aspect of this book did you most enjoy writing?
I always loved writing the scenes between the three girls when they're just being together. I honestly could have written entire novels based around just this, but I don't think that would have been as interesting to everyone else! The conversations were the easiest for me and when I was at my most relaxed as a writer. The best ones always felt like I was listening to a conversation instead of writing it myself - like they were there in the room with me.

BEAUTIFUL BROKEN THINGS deals with, among other things, mental illness. What research did you do to portray this in an accurate, realistic, and respectful way?
As with most things I write, I started with the characters. With Suzanne, understanding where she was coming from and how she'd react to things was central to the struggles she was facing with her mental health. If I'd started with research on depression or suicidal ideation, it wouldn't have been *her* in the way it needed to be. I needed to know her first and then do more specific research - and by that stage it was all coming very naturally.

It was slightly more complicated with a character like Tarin (Caddy's older sister), because I knew less about bipolar disorder, but again I researched everything from the perspective of her character. It's always character first and though that is of course influenced by things like mental health, it was important to me to show that it's not everything. Having bipolar disorder is the least interesting thing about Tarin - I hope!


On the topic of your publication journey: every writer experiences some rejection and setbacks along the way. How did you learn to cope with them and move on?
Unfortunately there's not a magic phrase or piece of advice that will make rejection hurt less - it's just something you have to go through as a writer. I remember when I got my first "real" rejection through (from a literary agency) I felt like I was earning my chops as a professional, because being rejected is what happens to professionals! It helped a *tiny bit* to think of it that way!


How did you find your publisher? What makes them a good fit for you and your book?
My brilliant agent - Claire Wilson - did all the hard work for me. She submitted the finished book to a number of editors at different publishing houses and then it was a case of seeing who was interested and what the offers were. The first publisher I met was Macmillan, and I knew immediately that was where I wanted to be. Their enthusiasm for the book was so clear and they're such a brilliant publisher. It was a no-brainer. The team who work with me and BBT at Macmillan Children's are so talented and passionate. I couldn't be happier.


Tell us about your book cover! Who designed it? How much say did you have in it? What do you want it to tell your readers about your story?
Rachel Vale at Macmillan designed it! It is obviously the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I was lucky in that I had some say in the cover design, but luckily I didn't need to get involved much because Rachel did such a brilliant job. We went through just one different design before this final one came through.

Above all, I wanted the cover to tell readers that this is a story worth reading, without giving the wrong impression of what they'd find inside and without giving too much away. I think it does it perfectly.


Tell us about your title. Was this the original title you'd had in mind? If not, what made you change it?
Beautiful Broken Things went through a *lot* of titles! It actually had a different title at every stage of the process! While I was writing it, I was calling it Third Wheels, but it was also known as Cracked and Thanks To You at various stages! My publisher felt the book needed a stronger title, and I'm VERY happy with the title it ended up with.


Can you tell us about some of the things you been working on between signing a contract for BEAUTIFUL BROKEN THINGS and its release?
I spent some time working with my editor to polish up Beautiful Broken Things, but I've also been working on my next book, which is another contemporary standalone about love, communication and anxiety.


How does it feel to finally have your book out in the hands of readers? Do you have any events planned you want people to know about?
It feels amazing! (And a bit scary!) I'm going to be doing several events that I'm excited about, such as the World Book Day Teen Fest event in March with Holly Bourne and Juno Dawson.


Is there any other advice you'd like to pass on to others pursuing publication? Anything you would have done differently?
KEEP GOING. There is honestly no better advice I can give than that. Maybe I could have done some things differently, but I'm glad I didn't. I've ended up with the best agent, editor and book I could ever have hoped for. It was worth it!


And, just for fun, which book in your own library do you think would be your main character Caddy's favorite?
I feel like Caddy would be a big John Green fan, to be honest! I can imagine her shedding some tears over The Fault in our Stars.


Thank you so much for your participation in this Wednesday Debut Interview! And congrats on your new book!

Purchase BEAUTIFUL BROKEN THINGS here!

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Do you or someone you know have a debut book coming out this year? If you'd like to be featured in a Wednesday Debut Interview, please email wendynikel at gmail dot com with your book's title, release date, publisher, and category/genre.

Guest Post: Small Press/Big Press Pros and Cons by Lawrence M. Schoen

I’ve been at this for a while, more than twenty years writing and selling stories and novels, and in that time I’ve had five books published from small presses (six if you count an early ebook from the days before there were Kindles). There are a lot of pros to being published by a small press, but there are also limitations, even when your publisher loves your work and you’re the biggest fish in that small pond. My new novel, Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard, is my first venture in the world of the big press. Specifically, it’s being published by Tor Books, the largest of our genre’s publishers in the US. Or to put it another way, I’m now the littlest fish in the biggest pond.

Accordingly, this seemed like a good topic for this guest post: my thoughts on the pluses and minuses of small and big presses. So, in no particular order, here we go:


AGENTS - I didn’t have one when I sold those books to the small presses I’ve worked with. Heck, in several instances I actually wrote the contract for my publisher (leaning heavily on my own experiences as a small press publisher and cribbing language from a variety of SFWA templates). And because I negotiated those book sales directly with each of my publishers, I didn’t need one. The resulting contracts only ran between one and three pages, but did require me to educate myself on all the points that an author needs to be familiar with before signing a document — in particular what rights are being acquired and when the work reverts.

By comparison, I managed to sell Barsk before I had an agent, and quite literally the same day I received an email from my editor saying he was buying the book I began beating the bushes for an agent. And a good thing too, because the Tor contract ran 34 pages written in dense lawyer-speak. More still, my agent ended up crossing out, altering, and/or amending more than half of the language in the document (yeah, I have a pretty awesome agent). After my other contract experiences, I consider myself pretty well versed on the language, but in this case that translated into knowing that I was woefully under-equipped to tackle a big press contract without professional help.


ARTWORK - I had a major amount of input on the covers for all of my small press books. I picked the artist and I always worked with her and the editor, providing feedback on early sketches and color schemes and all of that. The results were pretty fantastic (and here’s a shoutout to that incredible artist, Rachael Mayo!). More recently, with Barsk I had no input into the artist. Instead I had Tor’s legendary art director, Irene Gallo, who enlisted the astonishing (and award winning!) Victo Ngai to produce one of the best book covers I’ve ever seen in my life! I really lucked out here, and I have no explanation how or why.

Seriously, we’ve all heard the horror stories of mass market paperbacks showing blonde, blue-eyed characters on the cover when every person in the book is described as dark and swarthy. It’s a great thing to have influence in the cover of your book, and that may be one of the biggest perks/reasons of the small press (assuming you have that kind of relationship with your publisher), but there’s a lot to be said for the resources a big press can put behind a cover in terms of the talent they can attract.


TURNAROUND - In my experience, small presses have very small staffs, often as little as the one individual who started the thing. As such, they don’t do as many books, and the publishing calendar isn’t as full. Consequently, don’t be surprised if your book doesn’t need as much lead time and you see the bound result in your hands that much sooner. On the other hand, one of the reasons the process goes faster is because small presses aren’t set up with the same advertising schedules as big presses. Advance copies probably won’t be printed and sent out to other authors for potential blurbs with lead time to include them on the back cover, nor will a team of marketing people meet with bookstore buyers to pitch your book a year before its release date long before your final edits have even been turned in. Small press distribution isn’t as complex an issue either, and the sheer number of copies that will be printed (or which your publisher hopes to sell) are probably an order of magnitude lower at least. But wait, there’s more. Getting reviewed by the major players (by which I mean PW, Booklist, Library Journal, and Kirkus) can be harder. Some won’t review small press at all, or may require longer lead times than are practical for a small press, or insist on a physical galley which your publisher simply isn’t equipped to provide before the book is actually going to press.

In the world of small press where your editor and publisher are the same person, that person is also responsible for all the other myriad tasks, like submitting your book for review and for award consideration. That can be a good thing because you have fewer people to communicate with when decisions are being made, fewer links in the chain. The odds are good that every factor affecting when your book will come out will run much smoother (in terms of months or years!) compared to the timetable of a big press. On the other hand, it also means that when “life happens” your entire project can be derailed for months at a time. Trade offs.


MONEY - Let’s face it, most small presses are a labor of love — certainly the one that I run is — and while the publishers want to make a profit, the ones I’ve worked with also want this to be true for their authors. But it’s a business, and as is true of any business profits favor the company over the folks who supply the product (and this is true for big press as well). Neither size press is going to live or die on the fate of your book. It’s a numbers game and unless you have multiple books in the stream you don’t even have a seat at that table.

That said, in my experience even a low advance from a big press is going to be many times what you get compared to a big advance from a small press. I’ve actually sold foreign reprint rights on some of my small press sales that earned me more than the initial advance. Crazy, right?


RECOGNITION - Issues of money aside, every author I’ve ever met wants to be read. The odds of this happening are better with a bigger press simply because they have greater resources. Copies of your brilliant prose will find their way to a wider audience (this is also true of pirated copies!) and more people will see your work.


WHAT’S IT ALL MEAN? - Probably not a whole lot. Most of us aren’t in a position to choose, particularly at the early part (however you choose to define that) of a writing career. We tend to grab eagerly at whatever opportunities are put in front of us. And too we’ve bought into the narrative that it’s an uphill climb, that bigger is better, that the small press is just a stepping stone on the way to a lucrative big press contract.

I’m not disagreeing with any of that, but once you’ve grabbed that brass ring I think there are plenty of reasons for still publishing with a small press, particularly when it comes to projects that are too controversial or too specialized for a big press to want to invest in.

In the end perhaps the best thing I can tell you, big or small, is that you want to work with someone who believes in your story. This should also be true with respect to your agent. You want to be appreciated. You want to be valued for your vision and your talent. You want to be published by someone who sees you as a writer first and a potential profit second. Or at least, that’s what I want. And in my opinion, achieving that goal is more important than the size of the publisher who’s printing your book.

****

Lawrence M. Schoen holds a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics. He spent ten years as a college professor, and has done extensive research in the areas of human memory and language. This background provides a principal metaphor for his fiction. He currently works as the director of research and analytics for a series of mental health and addiction recovery facilities in Philadelphia.

He’s also one of the world’s foremost authorities on the Klingon language, and since 1992 has championed the exploration and use of this constructed tongue throughout the world. In addition, he’s the publisher behind a speculative fiction small press, Paper Golem, aimed at showcasing up-and-coming new writers as well as providing a market for novellas. And too, he performs occasionally as a hypnotherapist specializing in authors’ issues. 

In 2007, he was a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. He received a Hugo Award nomination for Best Short Story in 2010 and Nebula Award nominations for Best Novella in 2013, 2014, and again in 2015. Some of his most popular writing deals with the ongoing adventures of a space-faring stage hypnotist named the Amazing Conroy and his animal companion Reggie, an alien buffalito that can eat anything and farts oxygen. His latest work is a very different kind of book, an anthropomorphic SF novel that explores prophecy, intolerance, friendship, conspiracy, and loyalty, and a drug that lets you talk to the dead.

Lawrence lives near Philadelphia with his wife, Valerie, who is neither a psychologist nor a Klingon speaker.

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Wednesday Debut Interview: The Daring Prince Dashing by Marilou Reeder

Please welcome Marilou T Reeder to our Wednesday Debut Interview, in which she'll tell us all about her debut picture book, THE DARING PRINCE DASHING!

Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed at Operation Awesome, and congratulations on your debut! Tell us a little bit about THE DARING PRINCE DASHING! Thank you so much for having me! THE DARING PRINCE DASHING is about a prince who can’t do anything the easy way. He bathes in the moat with crocodiles and toasts s’mores by dragon’s breath.Then, at the royal ice cream social, he meets a girl as adventurous as he is. But at the stroke of bedtime, she hurries off, leaving only her pogo stick behind. Prince Dashing declares that he will search for his new friend, and of course he must do it while blindfolded, which leads to lots of humorous mishaps! It is a very silly, fractured fairy tale.

Can you tell us a bit about how this story came about? What was your inspiration?
At a time when I was brainstorming for characters, my kids and I were watching America’s Got Talent. Every year they have performers who do crazy, death-defying acts, like balancing on one finger on the top of a flagpole, or juggling chainsaws or something. I cannot stand to watch performances like that, because I’m possibly the biggest chicken on Earth. Walking down a flight of stairs without holding onto a railing is about as daring as I get. But AGT sparked an idea: What if I wrote about a daring character? Prince Dashing came to mind, and because of the royal setting, I began to weave in some fairy tale elements.

Can you tell us about how you got your book deal with Sky Pony Press and what makes them a good fit for your book?
My super agent, Kathleen Rushall, submitted Prince Dashing to Julie Matysik, the Editorial Director at Sky Pony Press. A couple months later, Julie emailed to say that she loved the manuscript and wanted to bring it to the publisher. After the publisher gave the thumbs-up, my agent called me to let me know we had an offer.

Julie has been wonderful to work with. This book has a lot going on in the illustrations that is not conveyed in the text, and it required an editor who could imagine how each spread might flow into the next--and Julie really understood it from the beginning. I think it is a rare talent to be able to envision all the pieces of the puzzle coming together. Another great thing about Sky Pony was they asked for my input and feedback, and Julie implemented my suggestions to make sure we were all happy with the final product. It’s been a gratifying experience to feel like I’m part of a team.

Is there any other advice you'd like to pass on to others pursuing publication? Anything you would have done differently?
When I’m writing, it helps to remember Pixar’s in-house motto: Be wrong as fast as you can. Basically, you’re going to make mistakes, and you will have to revise and tweak and revise and tweak until you get something worth publishing. You can expedite the process by making changes and moving forward quickly. Now, even though I try to keep this in mind, this is something I struggle with. I have one PB I’ve revised probably 20 times, over many months, and I’ve finally let go of the ending that once seemed so perfect. I wish I could have abandoned that ending months ago! It’s easier said than done, but my advice to others is to not get too attached to your writing, and to generate new ideas fast.

And, just for fun: Which animated movie would Prince Dashing most enjoy being a part of?
I think Prince Dashing would love to be in an action-packed movie like Big Hero 6. His acrobatic skills would come in handy.

Thanks for joining us and congrats again on your book!!

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Wednesday Debut Interview: Stillwater by Melissa Lenhardt

This Wednesday, we're joined by debut author Melissa Lenhardt, who's telling us about her new mystery novel, Stillwater.

Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed at Operation Awesome! Your bio on Goodreads mentions that you did not want to be a writer when you were a kid! So what was your dream job?
Honestly, I never had a childhood dream job. I went to college a complete blank slate, got a degree in an industry I hated once I started working in it, and ended up a stay-at-home mom. Writing isn’t my second career, it’s my first.


STILLWATER is a mystery with a former FBI agent-turned-police officer as the protagonist. What kind of research went into writing a character with that background?
There’s a reason Jack is an ex-FBI agent; when I started writing the book, or this version (more on that later), I didn’t have a FBI agent contact to interview about their job. So, I spoke to local police officers about small town policing, read books about police procedures and took a Citizen’s Police Academy class through my local PD, which gave me more contacts. I have a friend in my Writer’s Workshop who’s a retired Secret Service Agent so he gives me general Fed information, such as no way in hell would Jack drink a latte. You know, the important stuff.


Tell us about the fictional town of Stillwater. Were there any towns you had in mind while developing your setting for this story?
I grew up in a small East Texas town so of course everyone will think Stillwater is based on it. It is, to a degree. But, it could also be based on the suburban neighborhood I live in now, which is close-knit and like a small town in many ways.

In the first draft, I had a lot of information about the town. I wanted to make the town a major character and I thought the way to do that was to load the MS down with history and detail. Trouble was, it was boring. I cut almost all of it. Over time, the reader will learn more about the town, but I can tell you Stillwater has a major inferiority complex and competitiveness with Yourkeville, the county seat. No matter how hard the town tries, it just can’t match the success and prosperity of Yourkeville and it chafes the Stillwaterites to no end.


Let's talk about your writing process. How long did it take you to draft this novel? How long from that first draft until publication?
I was looking through some old files on my computer and came across what I think is the first mention of Stillwater, the town, in another story outline. From 2003! I couldn’t believe it was twelve years ago, but that sounds about right. This particular story started as a retelling of Jane Austen’s PERSUASION, with Ellie being the main character. Unfortunately, I never could get the story to work because I wasn’t a good enough writer. I abandoned the PERSUASION plot and changed it to a mystery during NaNoWriMo one year. Of course, I set it aside, unfinished. I came back to it in 2012, after I tried to query my historical fiction without success, thinking a mystery would be more marketable. It changed considerably during that edit. I pitched it to my agent in May 2013, signed with her in July, and the book sold to Skyhorse in July 2014.


Can you tell us about how you got your book deal with Skyhorse and what makes them a good fit for your book?
STILLWATER is a little different from your “typical” mystery. It was gritty but not dark enough to be noir. It’s not a straight crime novel or police procedural. Sex, profanity, grit and multiple POV kept it from being cozy. One publisher liked it but had tried a mystery with a romantic element that didn’t do well so they passed. So much for it being more marketable! Skyhorse publishes all different genres so they aren’t constrained by making sure the mystery “fit their list.” My editor liked it, and they took a chance on it.


What about the title? Was STILLWATER the original title you had in mind? How did it come about?
I’m terrible at titles and, when in doubt, I name it after a location in the book. With STILLWATER it worked because the title brings to mind the saying, “still waters run deep” which I adapted into a tagline to fit the theme of the book: “Big secrets run deep.”


Your cover definitely evokes a feeling of disorientation, things not being quite right. How does the cover line up with what you envisioned for it? How much say did you have in it?
Ha! Covers! I have lots of cover ideas. Most authors do and we rarely get what we want, so it was surprising when my editor asked for my input from the beginning. I scoured the internet for photos, created a Pintrest mood wall, filled a lightbox with every photo I could find for the different ideas I had. The photo on the cover was one I sent her with the comment, “Stillwater is more dilapidated than this, but this is the ballpark.” I was also adamant that I didn’t want water on the cover. How pedestrian would it be to have a cover of still water on the STILLWATER cover? So, when she sent me the cover I was shocked and very happy. They managed to evoke water with the bright blue sky without having water on the cover. They were also able to show how the town isn’t quite what it seems with the upside down photo. We didn’t change a thing.


Tell us about your book launch! What, where, when, and how do you plan on celebrating?
I’m having two! Why? Because I love parties! We’re having one in the suburb where I live at a small bar downtown on October 3. I hope that little bar bursts at the seams from all the people we cram inside it! A few weeks later, I’m having a launch in my hometown at the local Arts Center.


It was recently announced on Publishers Marketplace that Skyhorse has picked up the second Jack McBride mystery — congrats! What's in store for our hero next?
Poor Jack. He thought he was taking an easy job and the bodies just keep piling up. He personal life is in shambles and his twin brother, Eddie, is in town and making his life difficult. Ellie is running for a vacant city council seat and Miner’s trying to redeem himself.


You also have a historical mystery coming in spring from Redhook called SAWBONES. Can you tell us a little bit about that? Which was written first — STILLWATER or SAWBONES? What are you working on next?
This is my chicken and the egg question. I honestly don’t know which one I started first, but I can tell you I finished SAWBONES first. It was the first MS I finished. SAWBONES’s one line is “Outlander meets the American West.” I love this book so much. SO MUCH. Right now, I’m editing the sequel and will start writing the third in the series as soon as I’m done.


Is there any other advice you'd like to pass on to others pursuing publication? Anything you would have done differently?
Two pieces of advice: learn to finish and learn to move on. Finishing isn’t just writing THE END, it’s editing, sending the MS off to beta readers, more editing and revising and polishing. When you send queries off for your polished MS, start working on the next project. You won’t grow as a writer by reworking the same project over and over.


And, just for fun! Which other small-town law enforcement agent do you think your protagonist Jack McBride would most like to sit down and have some coffee and donuts with: Andy Taylor (from The Andy Griffith Show), Rick Grimes (from The Walking Dead), Cordell Walker (from Walker, Texas Ranger), or Nicholas Angel (from Hot Fuzz)?
Rick Grimes, for sure. Jack would probably take him aside and tell him to take a damn shower, put on some clean clothes, and shave his beard.


Thank you so much for your participation in this Wednesday Debut Interview!

Wednesday Debut Interview: Underneath Everything by Marcy Beller Paul

Today's Wednesday Debut Interview features Marcy Beller Paul, talking about her contemporary YA, UNDERNEATH EVERYTHING.

Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed at Operation Awesome! Your bio on Goodreads mentions that you've kept all the notes you passed in seventh grade -- very impressive! What would your seventh-grade self say if she knew that years later, you'd write this YA book?

Every year I unfold one of the notes to make sure I can still remember how to fold it the right way. And every time I do that I read one of the notes and remember how many things I was still trying to figure out in seventh grade about who I was, who other people were, what I meant to them, and how much pain/happiness we were capable of causing each other. With that in mind, I think my seventh-grade self would be way more impressed with how I survived certain relationships than the fact that I’d publish this book. At that I age I had no idea how hard it was to get published! Everything seemed possible if I just tried hard enough.


So true!
Your main character, Mattie, collects maps. Do you have any collections (besides your seventh grade notes)?
I’m a pack rat but I was never really good at collections. My rock collection started and ended during one year in elementary school. My lighter collection in high school and college probably topped out at ten, maybe less. None of my collections were as serious as Mattie’s, and none of them involved maps. I have a pretty terrible sense of direction and would choose English class over Geography any day of the week.


Let's talk about your writing process. How long did it take you to draft this novel? How long from that first draft until publication?
Four and a half years from first words to pub date. During the initial writing and revising stages my kids were very young (1 and 3) so I wrote whenever I could, which was during their naptime. On that schedule, it took me a year to write the first draft and then another year to revise it. When I was done with the revision, I queried agents, got an agent, and revised for a few months before submitting and eventually selling the book to a publisher. That whole process took almost 6 months. Then I revised with my editor and copyeditor for about a year (that time included both my work and the time between rounds when my editor was reading) and turned in the final draft almost a year before the actual pub date.


Can you tell us about how you landed your book deal with Balzer + Bray and what makes them a good fit for your book?
My original editor at Balzer + Bray was the first editor to respond to my manuscript and the first to make an offer. The entire imprint, including the publishers, had read my book within a week or two. I loved that they were so enthusiastic and that the whole team was on board. But more than anything I loved that they understood the book. Another editor wanted me to change it pretty significantly. Her suggestions weren’t bad, but they were for a different book than I’d set out to write. I think Balzer + Bray is a fantastic fit as an imprint because they are like a boutique with the backing of a big house. On top of that, they publish brave, diverse, and challenging fiction. It’s been a fantastic working with them.


What about the title? Was UNDERNEATH EVERYTHING the original title you had in mind? How did it come about?
I queried agents with this title, but always assumed someone would change it! My manuscript was nameless for a long time. When it came time to query agents, I went through the manuscript and tried to pick out lines that had title possibilities. UNDERNEATH EVERYTHING was on the list. It was my critique partner’s favorite (*Hi Paula Stokes!*). At every stage—selling to publishing house, final revision, copyedits, etc—I asked if we were going to change the title but everyone seemed happy with it. I’m still shocked that the original title stuck!


I noticed on your website that you were signing galleys at BEA this May. Can you describe that experience for us?
In my former life as a publishing house employee I worked the booth at BEA, so being there as an author was absolutely surreal and not just because I didn’t have to stand in heels for 8 hours straight! Seeing my name on the screen in the Harper aisle was like an out of body experience.

My biggest fear, of course, was that no one would come to my signing. After all, the show is very busy! Not only did people come, we had to go to the overflow table to keep signing after my slot was over. The best part—by far—was meeting teenagers who were excited to read my book.


Awesome!
And, just for fun: what celebrity do you think would enjoy reading UNDERNEATH EVERYTHING?
Demi Lovato, Angelina Jolie, Evan Rachel Wood


Thank you so much for your participation in this Wednesday Debut Interview and congrats on your book!

Wednesday Debut Interview: Link by Summer Wier

It's time for another Wednesday Debut Interview! Today we're talking with Summer Wier, whose YA science fiction novel LINK is now available from Reuts Publishing!

Hi Summer! Thanks for joining us! Your bio says you're an accountant! An author/accountant seems like an unusual pairing; which came first?

Hi! Yes, I do some accounting, but am really more of a jack-of-all-trades. And this is definitely one of those chicken and the egg scenarios. If I look all the way back to high school, I was awful at math and loved reading and writing. Over the years, my work experience took me more in the direction of business management and I never really thought much about pursuing writing seriously. When I finished my MBA, I needed another "project" to fill my spare time and had the thought to write a book. The idea for LINK wasn't a solid one and took a while to really nail down, but once I figured out the "hook" I dove into writing! I still juggle both and probably always will!


Your debut, LINK, sounds like a little bit of sci-fi, a little bit of fantasy. How do you describe it to people in one sentence?
You're totally right, and I had a hard time picking one genre to go with as I was querying and pitching because it really does combine the two. There's a great line from the LINK press release that sums it up perfectly: LINK is the perfect blend of science, speculation, and adventure.


Do you have a favorite scene? Can you tell us a bit about it without spoiling too much?
It's hard to choose a favorite scene, especially without giving away any spoilers. I can say that my favorite parts to write were when Kira interacts with her star. I'd close my eyes and drift into those moments, imagining what it would be like if we were connected to those celestial objects and how it would sound and feel to be near them. I hope my readers get carried away in those moments, too!


I'll bet they will! What's the biggest change you made to this story between the first draft and final draft?
WORD COUNT. When I finished my book and started querying, I was a total newbie. LINK clocked in at 47,500 words when I first started sending it out. I quickly learned that it needed more meat. As I added and revised, I never made any major changes to the storyline overall, but the final version is around 67,500 words. I couldn't be happier with it!


LINK is the first in a series; did you know going into it that this would be a trilogy?
Yes. When I started LINK I always planned for it to be a trilogy, although I had absolutely no idea where it was going plot-wise. What I did know was that the first book would be very internal for the MC, solving problems close to home and her heart. As we progress to the second book, she looks beyond herself to help those closest to her, and by book three she has to focus on saving the universe (which maybe be groan-worthy to some, but it is what it is). So with that in mind, the sequel plots slowly unfolded! I'm still not 100% settled on how the third book ends, but it will come with time.


I'm always interested to hear about writers' processes. How long did it take you to draft this novel? And how long was it from that first draft until publication?
Me too! Every journey is unique. Drafting LINK was pretty drawn out. I started writing it right after I finished my MBA and got about 3 chapters in, then went to work full-time. My kids were also toddlers at the time, so it was more of "for fun" at that point. I'd guess that a year passed before I really had that nagging voice that I needed to do more with it, that it was a project I needed to finish. All the while, I'd have ideas popping into my head that I'd jot down for whenever I got around to writing. Anyway, once I decided it was a priority, I finished it in about six months (still working and mothering of course). But that was the glorious 47,500 word version! From that time, I queried and pitched (revising to add to my word count along the way) for 1 1/2 years before I had offers on it! Now it's scheduled to be released at the end of the month, a little over a year after I signed with REUTS Publications. What a ride!


Can you tell us about how you got your book deal with REUTS and what makes them a good fit for your book?
As I mentioned earlier, I started querying agents right out of the gate (with a book that was not ready) because, at the time, that was the only way I thought one could get published (outside of self-publishing which I also considered an option). As I learned more about the publishing industry, I discovered there were still other options like going through editors or directly submitting to presses. During this time, I did a lot of research into all of the options while trying to narrow down what I wanted and what would work for me. Now this may sound unusual, but part of me totally panicked at the thought of handing my baby over to an agent and letting a publisher have their way with it. On the other hand, though I have the background and knowledge needed to self-pub a professional work, I still wanted support as a debut author. I learned about REUTS from a pitch event, and though it was months before I subbed to them, I finally did. And even though they weren't the first to offer on LINK, I knew from the editorial letter and covers (and everything else I'd learned about them) that they were exactly what I wanted in a support team and publication partner.


It sounds like you found a great fit! Tell us about your cover. What do you want it to tell your readers about your book?
I absolutely love how my cover turned out. I had ZERO vision for what I wanted when I began working with REUTS' cover designer, Ashley Ruggirello. As we talked about options, I determined the focus should be on the lake setting (such a key element of the book and my premise) and should also include hints of the world it's linked to. So while it gives a great overall feel for my story, it really makes "sense" after you've read the book.


How are you planning to celebrate your book's release? Do you have any events you'd like readers to know about?
I don't even know what to expect that day, but I'd imagine it will be a social media frenzy! I am hosting an online release party on Facebook (Join here: https://www.facebook.com/events/940104586051537/) and will plan an in person event at a later time. Anyone and everyone is welcome!


What are you working on now that the work on LINK is all done?
I'm working like a mad woman to finish the sequel, LOST, which is tentatively scheduled to release Fall of 2016. I'm about halfway through, but summertime and an international move totally knocked me off my writing schedule. Time to get back to it! And for those who are interested, book three, LIGHT, is scheduled to release Fall of 2017.


Is there any other advice you'd like to pass on to others pursuing publication? Anything you would have done differently?
1.) Never give up. 2.) Join the Twitter writing community. I learned SO much just from being involved there and it also led me to find my closest writer friends! And like you said, every journey is different. I could come up with lots of things I COULD have done differently, but I learned a lot on my journey, things I might not have had I done it a different way. It may sound corny, but I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be.


And, just for fun: what do you think would be the best food to snack on while reading LINK?
Hands down, OREOS. (Which comes as no surprise to those who know me.)


Thank you so much for your participation in this Wednesday Debut Interview!
Thank you so much for having me! I truly appreciate your time!

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If you are an author looking forward to your debut sometime between December 2015 and June 2016 and are interested in being part of our Wednesday Debut Interview feature, please contact me at wendynikel at gmail dot com with your book title, category, genre, publisher, and release date.

Wednesday Debut Interview: NOT AFTER EVERYTHING by Michelle Levy

This Wednesday, we're welcoming Michelle Levy with her new YA contemporary novel, NOT AFTER EVERYTHING!

Hi, Michelle! First off, tell us a bit about yourself!
I grew up in Littleton, Colorado but moved to Los Angeles as soon as I graduated from high school to pursue a career in entertainment. I’ve been a casting director for the past fifteen years and have been lucky enough to work on projects such as Six Feet Under, Deadwood, Bruce Almighty, My Name Is Earl, Mr. Poppers Penguins, Vampire Academy, and much more. I didn’t start writing until I was thirty-two because I stupidly let a few people telling me I wasn’t a writer stop me from writing. Now I wouldn’t give it up for anything.


Tell us about your book. How would you describe NOT AFTER EVERYTHING in one sentence?
It’s a gritty but hopeful love story about a seventeen-year-old boy coping with his mother’s suicide and his father’s abuse with the unexpected help of an old friend turned loner goth girl.

*takes a big breath*


This book touches on some really serious issues — suicide and abuse. Can you tell us a bit about how you came to write on these topics?
I didn’t really know I was going to write about such heavy issues, it just sort of happened. I’m one of those crazy writers who “hears” her characters. I remember out of nowhere one day having this angry seventeen-year-old guy in my head. He was so pissed at his mom for killing herself and I absolutely had to know more of his story.


Let's talk a bit about your publishing journey. How long has this process taken for you, from the first draft until publication date?
This book’s journey was a little less than three years from draft to publication. My journey as an author was much longer. Not After Everything was my fifth completed manuscript and the third I queried agents with. I probably racked up over 150 rejections over all my years of querying. But my book sold really fast—my agent pitched it on Wednesday, on Friday she got a call from the editor at Dial that she was going to be making an offer on Monday after the acquisitions meeting, and then the offer came in on Monday as expected—so I guess that makes up for all the previous rejection. Okay it totally makes up for all the previous rejection.


Wow! Sure does!
So now that you've told us about some of your rejection and setbacks along the way. How did you learn to cope with them and move on?
I got very lucky and found an amazing writing group very early on. If I didn’t have such a great support system of friends and fellow writers cheering me on, I don’t know how I would’ve made it through 150+ rejections.


Was NOT AFTER EVERYTHING the original title you'd had in mind for this story?

Far from it. My agent, my editors, and I ended up with a list of 245 titles before we finally settled on Not After Everything, which was a line in the book and my editor’s brilliant idea.


How does it feel to finally have your book out in the hands of readers? Do you have any events planned you want people to know about?
It feels awesome and scary! I hope they fall in love with Tyler and Jordyn as much as I did. I’m doing a book launch in Littleton, Colorado at the Tattered Cover Bookstore at Aspen Grove on August 15th at 2:00pm. I’m particularly excited about doing a signing in Denver because the book is set in a fictionalized version of Highlands Ranch (a suburb of Denver near Littleton). It’s also where I’m from.


Is there any other advice you'd like to pass on to others pursuing publication? Anything you would have done differently?
You have to put yourself and your work out there. I highly recommend joining a critique group and/or finding a few trusted critique partners. You have to get used to taking the ego out of the work and seeing the things that you can make better without taking it personally. I know I’m usually way too close to see the problem areas in my own work and I depend heavily on my honest critique partners. I admit it was hard to take the criticism at first, but it only made me stronger for when I faced any professional rejection. If I knew then what I know now, I would have waited to query my first manuscript until after I had done a few rounds of revisions with critique partners.


And, just for fun, what recent movie would your two main characters Tyler and Jordyn have gone to see together this summer?
Ooh, I love this question! I’m going to say Jordyn would’ve probably dragged Tyler to San Andreas to scare him before he moved to California. Also for a good laugh.

Awesome! Thanks for joining us, and congrats on your debut!

Amazon: http://bit.ly/NotAfterEverythingAmazon

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/NotAfterEverythingBN

iBooks: http://bit.ly/NotAfterEverythingiBooks

Kobo: http://bit.ly/NotAfterEverythingKobo

Books-A-Million: http://bit.ly/NotAfterEverythingBAM

IndieBound: http://bit.ly/NotAfterEverythingIndieBound

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If you are an author looking forward to your debut sometime between December 2015 and June 2016 and are interested in being part of our Wednesday Debut Interview feature, please contact me at wendynikel at gmail dot com with your book title, category, genre, publisher, and release date.

Wednesday Debut Interview: The Haunting of Springett Hall by EB Wheeler

This week for our Wednesday Debut Interview, we're chatting with EB Wheeler about her brand new YA paranormal novel, The Haunting of Springett Hall.

 

First off, tell us a bit about yourself! What's one thing people might not expect about you?
Where to start? I’m a serious history geek. I have a weakness for vegetable masala and cheesecake. I’m a Taurus. My guilty pleasure is Gothic romances. I’ve learned some fencing, but I’m pretty bad at it. Maybe some of those are to be expected, though. Here’s one: My critique group has pronounced me to be the world’s fastest chicken-peck typist. Due to nerve damage and paralysis in my hands from a spinal cord injury, I can’t use all my fingers, but I type at least as fast of the rest of them. :)


Mmmmm... cheesecake...
How would you describe THE HAUNTING OF SPRINGETT HALL in one sentence?
It’s about a ghost who has to solve her own murder to protect a household full of victims from a necromancer’s curse. (Those elevator pitches come in handy!)

How long as this process taken for you, from the time that you began the first draft of this book until the date of its publication?
By the publishing industry’s time scale, it went really fast—a little under two years. I wrote my first draft for NaNoWriMo in November 2013, did lots of revising and started querying in early 2014, and pitched it to my publisher at the League of Utah Writer’s September 2014 conference. I got an offer of publication about a month later, and here we are in July 2015.


The name "Springett Hall" brings to mind a certain old-fashioned opulence. Was the setting of this story based on any place in particular?
Not particularly. I pulled the name “Springett” from my “cool names” file, and I researched a lot of old houses as I was writing to keep the setting accurate, but there’s not one individual place that inspired it.


Which aspect of this book did you most enjoy writing?
I really had a lot of fun writing the creepy stuff, but I think I liked writing the interactions between Lucy and Philip the most.


Every writer experiences some rejection and setbacks along the way. How did you learn to cope with them and move on?
I think, for me, the key to getting up and moving forward after a setback is that I love to write—I can’t seem to give up telling stories. I realized I would keep doing this even if my manuscripts never saw the light of day, so when things were rough, I focused on getting lost in the writing—the part that makes me happy and keeps me enthusiastic. It also helps that I have an incredibly supportive writing group and a husband who believes in me.


How did you find your publisher? What makes them a good fit for you and your book?
I found my publisher by pitching to their editor at a writer’s conference. I had read and enjoyed other books they’d published, and the editor was so enthusiastic about the story, both when I pitched it and when she made me the offer, that I felt very confident it would be a good fit, and it has been. The editing process made the book stronger while keeping the things that I loved about it, and the cover they designed was a perfect complement to the story.

I love the cover of your book. It immediately reminded me of some of the ghost story novels I enjoyed reading when I was a kid -- like this one from Bruce Coville's The Ghost Wore Gray. How much say did you have in the cover? What do you want it to tell your readers about your story?

My publisher had the final say on the cover, but they did ask for my input. They made sure they understood what the character looked like (It bugs me when the person on the cover is blond but the main character is supposed to be a brunette, or similar major inconsistencies) as well as the setting, and what sort of mood I wanted from it. I asked for something “spooky but hopeful,” and pretty enough to give it the right historical flavor. This is a book about accepting and overcoming the negative things that happen to us (sometimes through our own mistakes), so there’s some somewhat dark things in it, but also plenty of hope, and I think they captured that balance beautifully.


I agree!
Tell us about the title: THE HAUNTING OF SPRINGETT HALL. Was this the original title you'd had in mind? If not, what made you change it?
Because of the Victorian setting, I wanted to do one of those long, old-fashioned titles and call it, “Within the Sickle’s Compass; Or, The Haunting of Springett Hall.” The “Sickle’s Compass” part relates to some elements of the story, but the publisher nixed it, even when I pointed out that Patricia Wrede’s Regency fantasies have titles like that. On reflection, I realize my editor made the right call. :)


What's next for you after this book debuts? Is this book going to be part of a series?
I’ve considered doing a sequel, but the book is meant to stand alone and I don’t have any immediate plans for a follow-up. I signed with an agent for my next YA Victorian fantasy, and we’re currently doing revisions on it before we start submitting. I’m also working on an adult historical fiction, so I’m keeping busy!


How does it feel to finally have your book out in the hands of readers? Do you have any events planned you want people to know about?
It feels so amazingly good! I’m doing a book launch party at The Book Table in Logan, UT on July 18th to celebrate, and I’ll be at Salt Lake Comic Con at the end of September. I’d love to see people there!


I might see you there!
Is there any other advice you'd like to pass on to others pursuing publication? Anything you would have done differently?
I wish I could go back and tell myself to relax and enjoy it more, but I’m not sure that advice would be helpful, since it’s so hard not to get stressed out about something you care about so much. Instead, I’d say to try to look at the big perspective, even when things get bumpy, and to remind yourself why you love to write, because that passion is what’s going to keep you hanging on to your sanity and pushing through the rough parts.


And, just for fun: what was your favorite childhood ghost story or novel?
Ooo, that’s hard; there were several I remember. I’m actually a giant scaredy-cat, so I avoid the truly hair-raising books and movies, but I do like “cozy horror” and books with ghosts as characters, and I love the kinds of stories that leave you with a little chill, wondering, “Was that a ghost, or is there another explanation for it?” There was this one book about a ghost collie that helped a little girl whose mother died—thanks to a quick Google search, I’m fairly certain it’s Shadows by Lynn Hall—that I loved so much I wouldn’t return it to the library. I have a feeling my mom ended up having to pay for it (yeah, I feel bad about that now).


Thank you so much for your participation in this Wednesday Debut Interview!

Wednesday Debut Interview - Call for Debut Authors!!

I love hearing about the exciting time in an author's life when their first novel that they've put so much work into finally becomes available to the world! Six months ago, I started posting interviews of some of these debut authors, and now I'm looking for more authors to hear from for the next year!

In the interest of variety, I'm putting out the call here for debuts in all categories (children's books, chapter books, middle grade, YA, New Adult, and Adult) and all publication routes (self-pub, small/independent press, and trade publishing). I'll be featuring two per month, so not every one will be selected, but if you are interested in participating, please email me at wendynikel @ gmail.com (no spaces) with the following information:

- byline/pen name

- name of book

- publisher

- release date

- genre/category

As of right now, I'm only looking for authors who have not had a novel previously published and only authors whose debut books will be published in the following months (I will update this list as spots are filled) --

Nov 2015

Dec 2015

Jan 2016

Feb 2016

Mar 2016

Apr 2016

May 2016

Jun 2016

Wondering what sort of questions these interviews will entail? Check out these previous interviews:

• Fractured Immortal by E.L. Wicker
• Tunnel Vision by Susan Adrian
• Heartsick by Caitlin Sinead
• Sachael Dreams by Melody Winter
• Fairy Keeper by Amy Bearce
• Everything That Makes You by Moriah McStay
• Any Way You Slice It by Kristine Asselin
• Nobody's Goddess by Amy McNulty
• Anna, Banana, and the Friendship Split by Anica Mrose Rissi
• The Tulip Resistance by Lynne Leathan Allen
• Run Away by Laura Slaters
• The Rearranged Life by Annika Sharma
• Secret of the Sevens by Lynn Lindquist
• Survival Strategies of the Almost Brave by Jen White
• Syeira by Gill L. Holland