Summer on the Water, Will Overby - Season 2, Episode 16

Today, in these Dog Days of Summer, I welcome thriller author Will Overby who has a very special guest post. Not only does  he tell us all about his new book, Moon Shadow, he also tells us all about his adventures in Indie publishing. Thanks Will, for joining us today.

My horror novel Moon Shadow follows three high school friends who accidentally kill a drunk man during Christmas break and proceed to hide the crime. The victim returns once each decade on the anniversary of the murder for supernatural vengeance against each of the conspirators until only one remains.

Moon Shadow is set in the fictional resort village of Harper’s Lake during the winter off-season. Although the setting is imaginary, I based it on the real area of Harveys Lake, Pennsylvania. I visited the resort during my senior year of high school in late 1983 and was immediately struck by the eeriness of the lake and surrounding town without the summer bustle of tourists. I could only imagine how the sense of isolation would grow during the snows of winter, but I knew I had to write about it and began the story immediately when I returned home to Kentucky. Thirty years later I dusted off the novel and proceeded to rewrite it, this time from a more mature point of view and with the added asset of three decades of history to enhance the story.

I admit to having a bit of a water phobia, and lakes, rivers and oceans have always felt ominous to me, so as a horror writer they have often made the best settings for my stories. One thing I have definitely observed is the way the mood of a place can change with the seasons, or even the time of day, and I’ve tried to use that to my advantage in the settings of my fiction. The fictional Harper’s Lake has made appearances in several subsequent novels, and I expect it to be a staple of my literary landscape as all of my work is interconnected.

I began self-publishing for Kindle back in 2008 while still trying to land an agent for my children’s book series, Brock Ford Adventures. After several nibbles but no bites I decided to completely chuck the traditional route in 2012 and go all in on indie publishing. I haven’t looked back. Indie publishing has given me complete control of the finished product and allowed me to make my own marketing and artistic decisions. Plus, I don’t have to share any of my hard-earned money with agents or publishers. If you are thinking of taking the plunge into self-publishing, be sure to learn all you can about the process. There are many blogs and websites to guide you, but take them all with a grain of salt. No one source has all the answers, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution for every writer. Arm yourself with knowledge and become educated on copyright, printing, distribution, taxes, and accounting. It can sound like a daunting task, but the rewards are well worth the effort. In the end, however, you are the only person who can make the decision on whether to go indie or pursue the traditional route.

Finally, if I were asked to give a TED talk, it would have to be on independent publishing – both its rewards and disadvantages. After seven years I’ve become well-versed on the various aspects of the journey, and I enjoy passing along to others the knowledge I’ve gained through the process. It’s been a wild ride.

This is fascinating, Will. How can readers find you?

Website

Facebook

Goodreads

Twitter:  @will_overby

 And one more question, where can readers purchase a copy of Moon Shadow?

Kindle

Nook

Summer on the Water, Josa Young - Season 2, Episode 15

It give me great pleasure on this mid-point of summer to welcome Josa Young to my blog. I'm anxious for you to meet her and read her great and well-written book, Sail Upon the Land.

Now, let's meet Josa.

Josa, what is your novel about? Give the readers a brief elevator pitch.

The mysterious death of a new mother damages the protective bonds of family love.

Since this is a ‘Summer on the Water blog’, I want to know why did you choose the theme of water for your story? Is your body of water real or fictitious?  

‘Sail Upon the Land’ is a quotation from Titania’s speech in Midsummer Night’s Dream, in which she talks about her status as a goddess in India (she is a mere fairy in England). There she sits in the most beautifully informal way with a ‘votaress of my order’ (priestess), gossiping by the sea and watching the ships. As women friends do, they joke about sex. The priestess is pregnant with the little Indian boy who unwittingly acts as catalyst for the play’s plot:

‘… we have laughed to see the sails conceive

And grow big-bellied with the wanton wind;

Which she, with pretty and with swimming gait

Following—her womb then rich with my young squire—

Would imitate, and sail upon the land

To fetch me trifles and return again

As from a voyage, rich with merchandise.

But she, being mortal, of that boy did die.

And for her sake do I rear up her boy,

And for her sake I will not part with him.’

Suffused with water imagery, this speech is one of my favourite in the whole of Shakespeare. The phrase Sail Upon the Land – a poignant metaphor for pregnancy – stayed in my mind, while the story I wanted to tell grew up around it like barnacles. The paradoxical fragility and strength of childbearing women is the underlying theme. And water, both real and metaphorical, runs through the whole novel, symbolic of risk as well as actively dangerous to the whole fragile structure of the Heyes family. It may be safer to ‘sail upon the land’ – do something paradoxical to get the best results – as well as to have the courage to change your life – be an altered person at different times and in different places.

Does water, and specifically the body of water you set your story beside, have any special meaning for you personally? What is it?

I am fascinated by archaeology, and that ancient human ways of living and being are still writ large on our English landscape. I know houses where an old pond or small lake is the last remaining part of what was once a defensive moat, the need for it left behind in distant history. The lake at Castle Hey is one such body of water.

Why are you choosing to self-publish?  What is one piece of advice would you give to authors who are thinking of self-publishing for the first time?

I chose to self-publish after the novel was turned down by the major publishers in the UK, even though it had attracted the attention of a top agent and I had a previously trad published novel (One Apple Tasted) that did reasonably well in 2009. I was encouraged to do so by other authors who read Sail Upon the Land and were baffled by its non-acceptance, including Rachel Hore, who very generously and unexpectedly offered a cover quote. I was also recently offered a cover quote by bestseller Katie Fforde too.

I was very frightened to begin with that I was exposing work that was substandard, and that the big publishers knew best what the public wanted and I was wrong. I thought there was some glaring flaw that hubris was blinding me to, even that I was deluded in thinking that anyone would be interested in my writing. Publication day was fraught with emotion as a result.

That evening I went to a women’s literary salon, stuffed with ‘real’ authors of all types, and when they heard it was my publication day they all clapped and cheered. I nearly cried as there is still a stigma around self-publishing, that it is a ‘vanity’. The leader of the salon is acclaimed novelist and critic Amanda Craig, who read and reviewed Sail very positively on Amazon shortly afterwards as ‘unusually well written’.

She compared me to novelists I have always been inspired by too: ‘In many ways, Sail Upon the Land resembles a Mary Wesley novel (and perhaps also an Elizabeth Goudge one) both in its upper class social setting, its understanding of and dislike for snobbery, and its sympathetic yet flawed characters. The period feeling … is excellent, with many little jokes about caste.’

But please don’t think that because I knew a lot of people in publishing from my days as an journalist that I got anything like any easy ride. Amanda was in touch because she had reviewed my first novel, which also suffered years and years of painful rejection that left me with writer’s block. My experience with One Apple Tasted was that people I already knew were even more determined to reject and discourage me than strangers. After it was published I made many writing friends through Twitter, people I had admired for years and been inspired by like Marika Cobbold and Elizabeth Buchan, and learned that there is a whole world out there of mutually supportive writers – so different from my earlier experiences!

I had believed my copy editor (you will need one of these) had disliked Sail as he had made no comments other than professional ones throughout the process. After it was published, he emailed me to say: ‘The trouble with enjoying a book during the copy-edit is that one can be distracted from the nuts and bolts of editing and start reading it for its own sake, which is one reason why I try to retain a certain detachment….I'm sure that review will be the first of many, and well deserved. I did thoroughly enjoy the book.’

The wider reception of Sail Upon the Land, both in the UK and in the US has convinced me I did the right thing in getting it out into the world. There have been over 100 positive reviews in the first four months – only one negative one which went into no detail, but does add spice to the mix!

My self-publishing advice is: Join the Alliance of Independent Authors for all kinds of technical hints and tips, both on avoiding wasting money and on getting it out there to be reviewed, that I found invaluable to my publication experience. A very supportive, various and interesting group of people. And edit, edit, edit, edit – get beta readers to help too, and professionals for both content and cover. The self-publishing game is very different from when I first wrote about it in 2005, when the sharks were already circling, smelling the blood of writers desperate to be published and profiting from their thwarted desires.

I totally agree with you. I love The Alliance of Independent Authors. I've received such good advice and help there, plus I think that's where I met you. Okay, final question:

You are asked to give a Ted Talk. What will it be about?

How biology and evolution shaped women’s position in the world in relation to men’s – that our large brains, which have so many advantages, mean that giving birth to human babies is fraught with danger and has to take place in the foetal stage of pregnancy. The resulting baby needs its mother’s loving care for years to grow up healthy and strong emotionally and physically. And without contraception that cycle was and is repeated over and over again, to the detriment both of women’s health and that of their offspring, effectively leaving women no time or creative energy for anything else.

This has led to women, of course equally as intelligent and able as men, moving out of public spaces and power over millennia – where success was for most of human history judged by battles won. A woman with children was not really available for sword-wielding except in a few remarkable cases such as the virgin Joan of Arc. It is notable that childless women, or women with few children like Margaret of Beaufort (one birth at 13 damaged her so badly she never had another, but that child was Henry VII) became hugely powerful.

Only recently, with advanced healthcare and contraception, are we stepping up into the world beside men, and only really in the Western world. There is a backlash to be endured, no animal likes its long-held territory to be invaded. But with accelerating communication, and different measures of success that don’t involve weapons, I see a healthier future for the planet where women and men have equal choice as to how they live their lives as responsible independent adults. Obviously some people long for a simpler past where gender roles were clear-cut and male dominance was a given, and some fight for that in deeply unpleasant ways. Educating women is the best contraceptive too.

I will continue to use fiction to express these ideas which deeply interest me but I will never bang a polemical drum – that bores me and I imagine readers too. To tell stories about women’s lives does all the work for me. It has taken me until recently to understand why I felt so uncomfortable growing up, and it was this: the assumption that I was inferior solely because of my gender when I didn’t feel inferior at all!

Where can people find you and purchase Sail Upon the Land?

Website

Twitter: @JosaYoung

Instagram:  @youngjosa

Facebook

To purchase Sail Upon the Land:

Amazon 

Summer on the Water, Janis Cox - Season 2, Episode 14

Today I welcome a friend of mine to my blog,  Janis Cox who has written a fascinating children's book entitled Tadeo Turtle! 

Thank you, Janis, for joining me here, can you tell me what is your story about? 

Tadeo Turtle is a watercolour picture book for children aged 2-7. It is written in rhyme and can be easily memorized. The words are challenging enough for children in grade two to read on their own but the story is easy to understand for a two year old. There are full colour illustrations throughout the story to help give visual clues to the reader. 

At the back of the book, there is a selection of art activities and research questions to further enhance the experience.

The story involves a turtle named Tadeo who feels left out when he can’t run and play like the squirrels. Through an exciting adventure he learns to accept himself how God has made him. 

 Thanks Janis! Since this is a ‘Summer on the Water blog’,  What body of water you set your story near? 

The story brings Tadeo to the body of water. He leaves his shell by the river and finds it difficult to find when he needs it because it is camouflaged with the rocks. Water was a perfect example of how animals can use camouflage as protection. My river is purely fictitious but we know that many turtles are found around rivers and waterways. 






Does water have any special meaning for you personally? What is it?

I love watching turtles in the water, the way they sunbathe together. We live in a wonderful spot in Haliburton, Ontario that is filled with many lakes and rivers. I find it God’s blessing to be near water. So much so that when we winter in Arizona we are very close to 2 man-made ponds which house fish, cormorants, egrets, cranes, ducks, geese (yes Canada geese) and night herons.

Janis, Why are you choosing to self-publish?  What is one piece of advice would you give to authors who are thinking of self-publishing for the first time?

My self-publishing experience leaves me with mixed emotions. Even though I self-published I don’t have as much control in dealing with Amazon as I would like. What I did like about my publishing experience with Word Alive Press is the beautiful printing that was done with Tadeo Turtle. The watercolour pictures turned out extremely well. I can’t seem to break into the online marketing. Most of my selling comes from fairs, and groups.

One piece of advice I would give first time indie authors is to check around and make sure people are extremely happy with the publisher before you make the plunge. Also work on your platform – ie website, blog, social media presence – before you are ready to roll. I didn’t and have spent the last two years making my presence known online.

Okay, now for the fun question - You are asked to give a Ted Talk. What will you speak about?

A very interesting question as my experiences are varied. However, what I am learning very strongly is to stay in God’s Word. I would talk about how I grew through using the Bible – studying it, talking about it, writing about it. The words of God are changing me. Prayer and studying the Bible should go hand in hand. For that reason I developed the SIMPLE method of Bible study which I explain in my blog post. Here is the PDF of the S.I.M.P.L.E. Bible Study.

I am also on a weekly radio broadcast (Tuesdays) for HopeStreamRadio speaking about Growing Through God’s Word.


Where can readers find you?

Website
Facebook 
Twitter
Pinterest
Linked In
Google Plus

Where can readers purchase Tadeo Turtle?

Directly from the author
Amazon

Summer on the Water, Katherine Smith - Season 2, Episode 12

Today I am pleased to welcome author Katherine Smith to my Summer on the Water blog. Not only does Katherine write, but she also manages Heddon Publishing, a publishing place for Indie authors. I'm looking forward to hearing her story as well as her Indie publishing venture.

Katherine, what is Writing the Town Read about? Give readers a brief elevator pitch.

Writing the Town Read is a modern story set in July 2005 when there were terrorist attacks on the London transport system.

The story is set in Cornwall, a good way from London and follows the story of opinionated yet slightly naïve local journalist Jamie, whose boyfriend Dave goes missing in London at the time of the attacks. It’s her story, not his, and follows her search for him as well as facing up to a number of other challenges. There are elements of mystery and humour which I hope combine to make an entertaining and thought-provoking read.

I love thrillers, and this sounds fascinating! Since this is a ‘Summer on the Water blog’, I want to know what body of water you set your story near. 

Writing the Town Read is set in an unnamed Cornish town which was largely inspired by St Ives, a town surrounded by the most beautiful turquoise sea – unexpectedly exotic for Britain.

Jamie has been drawn back to life in the town she grew up in, seduced by the sea and the different pace of life it inspires.

I chose to set the story by the sea because I suppose I am partially living vicariously through my novel – I have never lived by the sea but I fully intend to one day. For the meantime I just have to content myself with writing about it.

I am also intrigued by the contrast between life in small, remote places – and you don’t get much more remote than the tip of Cornwall, in the UK at least – and large cities. I do live in a rural town at the moment but it is land-locked. The sea adds another, vital, element to rural life.

I think we all to an extent, live vicariously through our stories! Thanks for this. Do you live near the water yourself, Katherine?
I am determined I will live by the sea one day. St Ives, though not named specifically, was a major inspiration for Writing the Town Read and a good portion of the book was written there. We used to have family holidays in Cornwall when I was a child and I love the county as a whole but I discovered St Ives when I was about 21 and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since. To risk sounding like a hippy, I feel my energy increases when I am there, and I just feel absolutely at home. 
You don't sound like a hippie at all! (If you are, then I am, too.) Okay, Katherine, why are you choosing to self-publish? Tell us about this thing called 'Independent Publishing."

I set out trying to find an agent and traditional publisher and I received encouraging feedback but the more I found out about self-publishing, the more it seemed to make sense. This tied in with being approached by another author, Michael Clutterbuck, to publish on his behalf (I was already working as a freelance editor, proofreader and copywriter).

From there, Heddon Publishing grew and by the time this interview goes out I hope to have published 20 books, two of which are my own.

Although I am assuming most writers dream of huge advances and a bestselling novel, I really think that the world of independent publishing is inspiring. It constantly reminds me of why I write – I love it – and is full of individuals who help each other out, which really appeals to me.

Having said that, yes, if I was offered a huge sume of money by a traditional publisher, I would probably sell out!

My advice to another author thinking of self-publishing for the first time is to make sure your book is edited, proofread and presented brilliantly Also get a good cover! The story may be absolutely amazing but without these key factors it will sink like a stone and possibly be ripped apart by readers.

Katherine, you are asked to give a Ted Talk. What will it be about?

Possibly about not letting parenthood limit your possibilities. I’m speaking as the mother of two young children (three and five years old). My first pregnancy was the catalyst for setting up my freelance business and since then I have self-published two novels as well as setting up Heddon Publishing and working with a range of clients in the publishing, education and business worlds.

Also, more importantly – though I’m not sure this is what TED talks are for! - not letting business compromise your parental ideals. My priority is being a parent but it doesn’t stop me achieving my goals. It just means they take a bit longer…

That sounds very self-righteous; it’s not meant to.

Thanks Katherine. Where can readers find you?

Blog
Facebook

Heddon Publishing

Heddon Publishing/Facebook

To purchase:  

Writing the Town Read UK

Writing the Town Read US

Summer on the Water, Anne Allen- Season 2, Episode 9

As we head into the heady, hot days of summer, I welcome British historical novelist Anne Allen to my Summer on the Water blog. Welcome Anne! Tell us what your brand new novel is about. 

My latest book, The Family Divided, is the fourth in The Guernsey Novels series and focuses on the Batiste family in Guernsey. During the German Occupation the then heir to the family farm, Edmund, was denounced as a traitor by, amongst others, his younger brother, shortly before being murdered. His killer was never found and his young widow, after being ostracised by both the family and neighbours, fled to relatives in France after the end of the war, weeks later. It was only then she realised she was pregnant and gave birth to Jim later in 1945. More than 60 years later Andy, Jim's son, sets out to discover why his father was denied his rightful inheritance when he moved to Guernsey in the 60s, not even being acknowledged as a member of the by now wealthy Batiste family.

Andy is joined in his search for the truth by Charlotte, who is staying at an upmarket natural health centre and looking for answers to her own problems.

Since this is a 'Summer on the Water blog', I want to know why did you choose the theme of water for your story? What body of water you set your story near? 

I lived in Guernsey for nearly fourteen happy years and left part of my soul behind, as well as my elder son! A few years after returning, reluctantly, to England, I decided to try my hand at writing a novel. The natural setting for me was Guernsey and my first book, Dangerous Waters, was written as my homage to this beautiful island in the English Channel. It, and the other Channel Islands are only about twelve miles from France, resulting in a significant French influence, but they are actually British.

Does the sea have any special meaning for you personally? What is it?

Yes. I was born in the middle of England, as far from the sea as you could get, but my father came from the Welsh island of Anglesey and I spent many holidays there as a child. I fell in love with the sea and have been drawn to live by it ever since. At one time I even had a house, set on the Firth of Forth in Scotland, which led onto a beach. At present I live in Devon and a matter of minutes away from the sea, again the English Channel.
I see that you are self-publishing The Family Divided. Why are you going this route? Do you plan to continue as an Indie author? What is one piece of advice you would give to authors who are thinking of self-publishing for the first time?

My initial idea when I wrote Dangerous Waters was to become traditionally published and approached agents with my manuscript. Some were encouraging but most sent the standard rejection letter. This was about nine years ago and self-publishing was not as it is now. Then, in 2012, it became more respectable and worthwhile and I used a service provider to publish my book. I was completely naïve as to the process, particularly with regard to promotion and marketing, and it's been a steep learning curve. I published my second book, Finding Mother, and subsequent books, under my own imprint and am beginning to see the results of all my hard work. It's unlikely I'll stop being an Indie as I love being in control of what happens to my books. For new authors I would say that the writing is the easy part and it's important to spend a chunk of your time building up good relationships with bloggers, reviewers and fellow authors if you want to succeed as an indie author.

Now to my fun question of the season. You are asked to give a TED talk. What will it be about?

Ahh! Interesting question. I think it would focus on the many roles that women today feel the need to undertake in order to be 'successful'. It's no longer enough to focus on being a wife and mother: we need to find the path that offers us fulfilment as a unique individual – and as a woman in what is still a man's world.

Thanks Anne! One last question. Where can readers find you and your books?

Website

Facebook
Twitter

The Family Divided on Amazon International link

Summer on the Water, Suzanne Adair, Season 2, Episode 8

Welcome Suzanne to this very special edition of Summer on the Water. Today is July 4, when our American friends celebrate their country. And since Suzanne's novel Regulated for Murder fits this theme, I am pleased to welcome her on her country's special day!

Award-winning novelist Suzanne Adair is a Florida native who lives in a two hundred-year-old city at the edge of the North Carolina Piedmont named for an English explorer who was beheaded. Her suspense and thrillers transport readers to the Southern theater of the Revolutionary War, where she brings historic towns, battles, and people to life. She fuels her creativity with Revolutionary War reenacting and visits to historic sites. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking, dancing, hiking, and spending time with her family. October 2015, look for the release of her next Michael Stoddard American Revolution Thriller, Deadly Occupation.

Suzanne, what is Regulated for Murder about? Give readers a brief elevator pitch.

The series is set during the occupation of the Atlantic coastal town of Wilmington, North Carolina by the Eighty-Second Regiment (British) during most of the year 1781. While closely following the framework of actual historical events, each title follows Michael Stoddard, a fictitious young officer, in a personal and professional adventure as a criminal investigator for the regiment’s real, historical commander, Major James Henry Craig. Of the six-book series, two books—Regulated for Murder and A Hostage to Heritage—are already available, with another book, Deadly Occupation, scheduled for an October 2015 release.

For ten years, an execution hid murder. Then Michael Stoddard came to town.

Bearing a dispatch from his commander in coastal Wilmington, North Carolina, redcoat Lieutenant Michael Stoddard arrives in Hillsborough in February 1781 in civilian garb. He expects to hand a letter to a courier working for Lord Cornwallis, then ride back to Wilmington the next day. Instead, Michael is greeted by the courier's freshly murdered corpse, a chilling trail of clues leading back to an execution ten years earlier, and a sheriff with a fondness for framing innocents—and plans to deliver Michael up to his nemesis, a psychopathic British officer.

Since this is a ‘Summer on the Water blog’, I want to know why did you choose the theme of water for your story? What body of water you set your story near? Is this a real place or is it fictitious?

Historically in late January 1781, the Eighty-Second Regiment sailed from Charleston, South Carolina. Its mission was to establish a supply depot in North Carolina for Cornwallis so the general could march his army around the colony’s interior and subdue patriots.

Occupying Wilmington, a port town on the Cape Fear River, was a crucial part of this military strategy. From a base in Wilmington, the redcoats could move troops and supplies along the Cape Fear River, which opened into the Atlantic, without risking ambush during land travel.

Late in 1781, after Cornwallis surrendered in Virginia, the redcoats became outnumbered and trapped in Wilmington by patriots. However, the regiment’s naval strategy allowed the soldiers and their allies to abandon Wilmington and sail back to Charleston without loss of life.

Regulated for Murder starts and ends in Wilmington. However most of the book’s action is in Hillsborough, North Carolina, where the main body of water is the Eno River. The Eno plays a role in the solving of a murder.

Does water, and specifically the body of water you set your story beside, have any special meaning for you personally?

I was born and raised in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, not far from the Atlantic Ocean. It’s difficult for me to conceive of writing fiction about the southern theater of the American Revolution without including the tremendous influence of the ocean.Why are you choosing to self-publish? What is one piece of advice would you give to authors who are thinking of self-publishing for the first time?

My first three books about the southern theater of the American Revolution—Paper Woman, The Blacksmith’s Daughter, and Camp Follower—were published by a traditional, regional press. The books were all stand-alone but connected reads. The character of Michael Stoddard played a small role in each book, and when I spun off his series with Deadly Occupation, the origin story of the Eighty-Second’s occupation, I offered it to my publisher. He hedged for over a year, and in early 2011, the press folded. After I got the rights back to the first three books and re-issued them with different covers, I offered Deadly Occupation to several other presses.

The editor at one mid-sized press rejected the book with a claim that civilians in Wilmington wouldn’t have surrendered peacefully to redcoats—that surely they would have fought a la “Red Dawn”—never mind that I had plenty of primary documentation showing that the civilians did surrender peacefully. Here’s an article about why they didn’t fight. I had Regulated for Murder ready for publication and, thinking it might fare better because it didn’t deal directly with the occupation, offered it to the editor. However the editor didn’t want to see any more of my “controversial” history.

By that time (2011), it had been three years since I’d had a book released. Another mid-sized press did exhibit interest in Deadly Occupation, but they let me know that it would be at least 2013 before they could publish it. I still did want a publisher, but five years was way too long between books. I was sure I’d lost readers during the three-year wait. So I set Deadly Occupation aside and tweaked Regulated for Murder to make it book #1 in the series. Then I self-published it. Regulated for Murder got put on Suspense Magazine’s “Best of 2011” list. I followed that with Michael Stoddard #2, A Hostage to Heritage, which went on to win the Indie Book of the Day award.

Because people who’d read Deadly Occupation insisted that it was too good to not be published, I’m releasing it this year as book #0. All of Michael’s books are stand-alone stories, so my readers won’t be confused. A number of them have indicated that they’re eager to learn about the occupation and how several regular characters entered the series.

If you’re going to self-publish your book, my advice is to not personally do every task associated with the process, or your end result will most likely look self-published. There’s so much to do to release and maintain a book. Your best way to sell that book will be by writing the next book. You cannot do that while juggling all the tasks yourself. So obtain the following types of outside help, at least:
 - Five or more readers to comment on your manuscript
 - A professional editor to help you polish your manuscript until publishable
 - A professional cover artist (ebook and trade paperback)
 - A professional book layout designer for the interior (ebook and paperback)

If you have the money, hire someone to help you with promotion and setting up splashy release-week events months in advance of the actual book release. Hire a virtual office assistant to help you manage social media.

That certainly is impressive Suzanne! Where can readers find you?

Website
Blog
Newsletter
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Amazon

Where can readers purchase Regulated for Murder, Suzanne?
Kindle
Paperback
Nook
iBooks

Summer on the Water, William Burton McCormick, Season 2, Episode 7

Since summer officially started last week, welcome William to the first Summer on the water blog of the "summer". I hope you're enjoying summer, and even spending a bit of time "on the water."

Now, let's talk about your self-published novella, Blue Amber. What is it about?

Blue Amber is an adventure-thriller long-story set on the coast of the Baltic Sea in the winter of 1910. My hero, Fricis Svaars, is an imprisoned revolutionary and the target of a jail-house assassination by the Tsar's secret police. But Fricis, motivated by the desire to see his wife once more, isn't the sort of man to go quietly to his own murder. In coldest February, while bound in chains, he makes a daring escape during a work detail and is chased through the snow to the rocky shores of the Gulf of Riga by the Tsar's man-hunters. Soon, he is trapped between the guns of his relentless pursuers and the frigid waters of the open sea. Desperate to madness, the choices Fricis make for love and survival are daring indeed.That sounds very interesting. 

Since this is a 'Summer on the Water blog.' I want to know why did you choose the theme of water for your story? And are the locations you use as settings along the Baltic Sea real or fictitious? 

I wanted to write a story of man reduced to his wits and will against the elements something combining classic sea tales with the feel of Jack London. The ocean, certainly, has both challenged and fascinated man since the beginning of human history. Man is, of course, by nature a land animal so we are literally out of our element when on the sea. There is a vulnerability there that is timeless. And the boundary, the sea shore, is always such a fascinating place. It is the meeting of two very different worlds. What a wonderful and natural place for a tale! I loved such stories as a boy and wanted to contribute one to the world canon, if I could think of a worthy plot.

Finally, the idea for the right story came to me while I was living in Latvia to research and write my historical novel Lenin's Harem. I read about how the inmates in Riga prison during the days of the Russian Empire were made to collect amber on the shore to earn extra money for their captors. I also read how the Tsar's secret police, posing a prison guards, would assassinate suspected revolutionaries during these work details and cover their nefarious work by claiming the victim had attempted to escape.

So, I combined this true history with my desire to write a sea tale into Blue Amber, where one man has to face both the elements and very human enemies.

As for the second part of your question, the locations in Blue Amber are real. I've been to them all, though in full disclosure, here and there I've slightly altered some minor topography for dramatic purposes. Nothing too bad, I hope.

Does water, and specifically the Baltic Sea have any special meaning for you personally? Or is it only the setting of your story?

I think since I've spent so much time in Latvia on the shores of the Baltic Sea researching the history and culture of the land, that it does have special meaning to me. The Baltic Sea, particularly the Gulf of Riga is more than just the setting of my story. It is almost a character in the story. If Fricis can understand the sea, make it his ally then it would aid him greatly. If not, if he can't understand it, he'll die.

By the way, as I live in Latvia presently and as this is a "Summer on the Water" blog, I feel I should mention that June 23rd was "Ligo" which is the main summer celebration here. Thousands of people go down to the seashore to celebrate (or to lakeshores or river shores) building great bonfires in the sand dunes (which by tradition you must jump over - don't try it, trust me) and celebrate the summer solstice. It is a celebration of the warmth, beauty and life of summer, the opposite side of the coin to the harsh, deadly winter sea Fricis faces in Blue Amber.

I'm planning a mystery story set during "Ligo" as well. More on that soon…

That sounds fascinating! Maybe I'll have to put that country on my "bucket list!" Now, let's talk about publishing, why did you choose to self-publish? How is the process going for you? Do you plan to continue as an Indie author?

I came to self-publishing Blue Amber perhaps a little more differently than many. Blue Amber was originally published in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and was very well-received, even being a finalist for a Derringer Award for Best Long Story of 2012 from the Short Mystery Fiction Society. After publication, the rights to the story returned to me. I had this wonderful, acclaimed work just sitting on my hard drive. No one who missed it in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine was reading it. So, I wanted to give others a chance to enjoy it. Rather than find some anthology for reprints, I decided to use Blue Amber as an experiment in self-publication. I had never done it before, and I'm pretty new at promoting these works myself, but the story is beginning to find new readers which is what I want.
As for continuing in the self-publishing vein, I think yes and no. For new works, if there is a traditional publisher which makes sense, then, one should consider that option. Other works, and certainly my back catalog of short stories and novellas, I want to make sure those get out to new readers as soon as the rights return to me. In the modern age, nothing should be permanently out-of-print especially if it is good. So, I'm certain I'll keep releasing older works on my own, especially those originally released in periodicals. 

Here is a question I am asking all of my writers this summer - You are asked to give a Ted Talk. What will it be about?


Wow, living in Latvia, I don't even know what a Ted Talk is… (quickly Googling). 

Ah! That's something I hadn't thought of, William. Well, I'm glad there's Google!

I see, basically a short speech on any subject. Wow! There are so many things I love to talk about. But, I think I'd address my fellow writers, and warble on about using experiences abroad to collect research for writing. I've lived in seven countries including two stints in Latvia and six years in Ukraine. The time in these places has given me a backload of stories so deep, I'll never tell them all. So, I'd like to encourage writers to travel, and uses these experiences to write a great novel or two or twenty…

William, where can readers purchase Blue Amber and find you?

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Sign Up for William Burton McCormick's NewsletterPraise for Blue Amber:

Blue Amber crackles with energy, authenticity and pure storytelling magic from the first line nonstop to the last. William Burton McCormick's timeless tale of men challenged by both the elements and their own psyches, set against the backdrop of Latvia in 1910, reads like Jack London with just enough James Rollins and Steve Berry thrown in for good measure. A beautifully realized vision that's riveting in all respects. Jon Land, USA Today bestselling author of Strong Darkness

This is a grim tale of survival in the harshest of conditions, both man-made and natural and it is a credit to the writer that I was so captivated by a story that is not a genre I would normally read. Where do I begin? The sense of time and place is so strong I felt I was there on the Baltic coast. I can't fault the writing which is equally strong and tight. There isn't a word out of place. The writer's knowledge of and authority over his subject matter meant that I remained gripped to the page from beginning to end and forgot I was reading 'professionally' rather than for pleasure. Stunning. The Historical Novel Society