To view a list of her official reviews, click here.
To view her website and purchase any of her books, click here.
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1. I've heard that you have something you want to tell us.
Yes! It’s that I want a more personal experience with readers. That’s why I created my own website and am using a new software that allows me to have my own eReader. I’m really excited because I was the first to try this software as part of an alpha test with the start-up keyTABs.
I feel that it’s a really powerful bookselling platform that is structured with authors' needs first. We need to provide readers with a nice experience when reading our books, and PDFs really do take them out of the experience, in my opinion. We need email campaigns to connect with our readers, too.
keyTABs helps create a customized experience for my readers, and that’s something they really appreciate.
2. What can be found on your website?
All my published books are available on my site. There’s also a lot of free artwork of my characters, maps, and landscapes. I've been working on these for a long time. The Stolen Heir, in particular, has a lot of artwork. Most of the main characters are hand-painted illustrations, including, Erik, Myre, Auralia, and Jumen. I also had the map and the kingdoms of Paleria and Thumeria drawn and they are available on the Stolen Heir page, as well. I think readers who enjoyed the books will like the artwork. I am thinking about writing a spinoff of the Stolen Heir, but we'll see.
3. What's exclusive to your website?
All of my books are exclusive to my website. I won’t be offering my books on any other platform.
4. Why did you decide to create your own website?
It’s not uncommon for authors to have their own website, but they primarily use it for marketing. I want to be able to connect with readers the way I never got to connect with authors of books I grew up reading. I remember going through websites and trying to find clues for what could happen after Order of the Phoenix. Of course, there weren’t any. I want to be able to spoil my readers a bit, but without spoiling the books. I can’t do that on any other platform.
5. Why do you publish on keyTABs?
Well, if I publish anywhere else, I’d have to give up a large portion of my royalties, which doesn’t seem fair. I work hard and I don’t want to give up the lion’s share. If I publish with online platforms, I have to give up thirty percent of my royalties, which is the lesser evil to traditional publishing, but I don’t want to rely on it.
I know of so many authors who make their living selling their books on Amazon, and one day they receive an email that they are banned. In many cases, no reason is provided, and suddenly, they have no income. I can't even imagine if this happened to me at a bad time, for example, if I had to take care of a sick family member, or if I had urgent bills to pay. I don’t ever want to be in that situation. I would rather do the hard work now and rest later.
There are other cons to traditional publishers, like them owning the rights to my work, or telling me to cut the word count, plot, or characters. I don’t want anyone other than myself having a say in what happens to my books. That’s one thing keyTABs is doing right; keeping the author in mind and turning the tables on traditional publishing. It’s about time.
6. How did the website come about? Did you work on it or have someone else do it?
I had a web developer design and develop the website. As much as I want to take credit for the work, I can’t. I am not a web developer.
7. Tell us more about your e-reader. What makes it special?
It’s the keyTABs eReader, and the most amazing thing about it is that it allows me to have my books on my website. I didn’t need to spend a lot of money to make my own reader, and then have to deal with the bugs and maintenance or anything like that. keyTABs has very talented and experienced developers that integrate the platform into my website. The team is always working to improve functionally, and even took some of my suggestions!
8. What's your series pass?
A series pass is an exclusive pass to my unpublished material, allowing readers to have access to unpublished books. It’s a nice treat for readers who crave more.
9. Can readers contact you personally through your website?
Yes, anyone can contact me at [email protected]. I also have a forum for readers to discuss any topic they find interesting. I started a few threads to get them going. I always enjoyed reading threads of books I enjoyed and I thought my readers might feel the same way.
How about a few fun questions.
10. What's your latest project?
I am currently working on a series called Celestial. It follows seventeen-year-old Catalea Yrenea, who was charged with squashing an uprising. Catalea’s world is divided into three folds: the Immortal Fold, Mortal Fold, and the Dark Fold. This world is a result of the Potenia, a cosmic event that spurred an explosion that bathed the world in radiation, and lives are forever altered.
Humans are affected differently than each other. Some evildoers are cursed to forever roam as dark ones; a plague of mindless evil that must be purified from the face of the planet. Some gain the power to fight the evil drawn from the very things that they find comfort in. These beings, affectionately called the Celestials, vow to protect the world and drive back the evil. Forever frozen in time, they don’t age.
Book 1 is called Uprising, and it’s going to be published sometime in October. I am working on a lot of artwork for this series and I will post a painting of Catalea as soon as it’s done. It will be on my social media accounts, and on my website.
11. What's your guilty indulgence?
Coffee, just because I drink too much. Black, with milk, iced…I drink it all.
12. How do you unwind?
Honestly, I just watch TV and relax. I love House MD and the Big Bang Theory.
13. Other than writing, are you working on anything else?
Yes, I am working on an app called Charlii, which is a project management tool that will help authors finish their books. It has a lot of tools specific to writers, based on my own experiences. I am also developing a blog specifically for fiction authors, and my plan is to have very unique content; such as the concept of weapons, and how they can add to a story. Charlii is coming very soon, so stay tuned.
what next???
Good book
