Author Interview: Cindy Borgne

For my second interview, I talked with Cindy Borgne, author of the science fiction YA tale, Vallar.

1) Tell us a little bit about your novel.

Sixteen-year-old Ian Connors works for Marscorp, using his psychic ability to give the organization an advantage over other groups angling for control of the embattled planet. The people of Earth have abandoned the colonies of Mars due to a dwindling of their own resources. The leaders of Marscorp believe that by pooling the planets assets, they will be able to gain enough power to force their way back to Earth.

Ian's job is to use his visions to locate smaller organizations in order to plunder their valuables and incorporate their masses. But a disturbing vision and a horrible loss cause Ian to doubt his loyalties to a corrupt, dictatorial admiral.

Unwilling to be a pawn in the Admiral's dangerous game, Ian must find a way to escape and protect a girl he sees himself with in the future. His only hope may lie with a new organization known as Vallar - an alliance of rebel organizations willing to fight for their survival.

2) What inspired your current novel?

It was a combination of two things. In the story, the main character Ian has the ability to foresee the future. So I put him in him a situation where he uses his ability for the wrong reasons, but he doesn’t realize it at first because he’s being manipulated. When he doesn’t realize it, he has to get away from the people using him for their own greed. The second reason is in the beginning of the story Ian sees himself with a girl he’s never met. I enjoyed experimenting with his desire to be with her based on a vision. It’s also is a forbidden type of love, and I had fun writing it.

3) Though your story is ultimately focused on an individual, you have a very intricate setting with a lot of implied history. Is the setting something you carefully considered before starting to write the book or was it something that you developed as your story unfolded?

This story has been with me so long it’s evolved a lot. Originally the setting was a future Earth that was overcrowded with both people and factories. Then I began experimenting with the idea of it being on Mars and things grew from there. I wrote some of the scenes on Mars and I enjoyed the challenge of it. As the story progressed, it became tied to the setting. Now there are scenes that won’t work anywhere else. So yes, you could say I carefully considered the setting.  

4) Tell us a little bit about your writing process.

I always flesh out the plot and characterization first, so my first drafts are light on description. Once I know the plot is solid, I go back in and add all the details. Then I edit it several times. I put it up for critique, and I continue to edit it. I even listen to it on my Kindle to catch errors. I pretty much pound the thing before I publish it.

5) What made you decide to self-publish?

Mainly I liked the idea of price control. I see so many traditional publishers pricing their e-books way too high. I’m still not certain if I went the right route, and I will know more eventually because I do have one novelette out from a small publisher. I wish there was a different way to submit to agents and traditional publishers where you don’t have to write a whole book before finding out none of them want it.

6) If you had one piece of advice for an aspiring author, what would it be?

Waiting for inspiration doesn’t always work. You have to keep working until you find it.

Cindy's novel, Vallar, is available at Amazon.

Query Goblin: For when you need some feedback on your query

Looking for some more feedback on your query? If so, you might want to visit The Query Goblin. While the Goblin isn't an agent, she (along with blog followers) provides nice third-party feedback on your potential query.

Author Interview: Katherine Hanna

Every author brings their own style to the act of creation. In an effort to explore those differences, I intend to interview different willing authors, both traditional and self-published.

I'm starting the series off with an interview with a friend, Katherine Hanna, author of the self-published post-apocalyptic drama, Breakdown. 

Me: Tell us a little bit about your novel.

KH: Six years after a pandemic devastates the human population and unstoppable computer viruses have destroyed much of the world's technology, Chris Price finally makes it from New York to Britain to reunite with his brother. But the horrors he's witnessed and unresolved grief over his dead wife and baby have changed him. Can he let go of his past, unlock his heart, and learn to find love again?

Me: What inspired your current novel?

KH: Many years ago I had a vivid dream. A man and his son were walking through Bath, England (I recognized it, having visited four times). I could tell that the world had changed: many buildings were boarded up, and cars sat rusting in the streets. The people were ragged, and trading in an open marketplace. The dream stuck with me, and I elaborated from that, and it eventually turned into the opening of Breakdown.

Me:  Love and a post-apocalyptic world aren't things that immediately go together in many people's minds. What made you set this kind of story in such a setting?

KH: Good question. The story didn't actually start out as a love story. It started out as Chris's quest to mend a broken friendship. Too easy in a modern world, so I eliminated conveniences like telephones and email. And to get rid of those I had to drastically change the world. The plot kept evolving. I realized that Chris had to have experiences before he gets home to Bath, and these would shape him. Experiences involve new characters. And when characters interact for awhile, things change again. Characters fall in love. What can you do?

Me: Tell us a little bit about your writing process.

KH: I write in fits and starts. I'll have a few weeks of fabulous productivity. Then I hit the doldrums, and produce nothing. I turn to sewing, and try to percolate ideas and plot lines while I sew. Sometimes I'll have a dream that will kick me in the butt and I'll write for a few weeks again. But I'm really bad at keeping a regular writing schedule. Just too much going on in my life. But I'd like to try to do that now, so I can get the next book ready.

Me: What made you decide to self-publish?

KH: I'd actually stopped writing in despair because I knew the process of getting an agent or publisher would take months to years with little chance of success. And if I got lucky and got the manuscript accepted somewhere, it could still be years before the book came out. I'm not a gal with a lot of patience. When I saw what people were doing on Kindle, I made my New Year's resolution to finish the book and have it out by my birthday of April 30. (I actually beat that by a couple of weeks.) So far, I'm pleased with how it's going.

Me: If you had one piece of advice for an aspiring author, what would it be?

KH: Don't try to find the magic formula, because it doesn't exist, and ignore any advice that includes the word "never." 

Breakdown is available for purchase at Amazon.com.

Let's Link To The Interesting Eight

I read and follow a lot of blogs relating to publishing. Today, I decided I would pass along a small number  of the ones I've found particularly interesting and/or useful. Now this isn't to say I don't follow other blogs that aren't interesting or useful (I follow several hundred), but just that these really stick out in my mind.

For those seeking traditional publishing:

http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/ 

This is the blog of literary agent Jessica Faust. Even if you aren't interested in her representing your work, she provides a lot of useful information about the process of getting published and general insight into the agent side of things. Read through her archives.

http://pubrants.blogspot.com/

This is the blog of literary agent Kristen Nelson. Pretty much everything I said above about Ms. Faust is true for Ms. Nelson.

http://www.annemini.com/

This is the blog of author and freelance editor Anne Mini. For those totally and completely new to the process of trying to get their work published, her website is invaluable. She provides lengthy, detailed explanations of things like manuscript preparation, query letters, synopses, et cetera.

http://queryshark.blogspot.com/

At this site, literary agent Janet Reid provides detailed feedback on if a query works or not. While she will not give feedback on every query sent to her, a careful review of her archives (over 200 dissected queries) should help an aspiring author learn everything to do and not to do in a query.

For those planning to self-publish:

http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/

This is the blog of author J.A. Konrath. He is a traditionally published author who has since become an e-self-publishing evangelist. Although I find his tone a bit combative at times, he provides a lot of useful information about the realities of self-publishing and is very open about things details like his sales.

http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/

Mr. Smith is another traditionally published author and former small press publisher who is now rather vocal in his support of self-pubbing. Although, unlike Mr. Konrath, he is making more an effort to keep a presence via traditional publishing. He provides a number of interesting insights into many aspects of both traditional and self-publishing that any author considering self-publishing needs to consider.

http://write2publish.blogspot.com/

This is the blog of Robin Sullivan. It is very focused on the 'business' aspect of publishing. She is involved with self-publishing, small press publishing, and "Big 6" publishing, so she can present a nuanced analysis of the advantages of each. 

http://www.kindleboards.com/

Like Amazon or hate them, the Kindle is still the King of E-readers. Though not an official site of Amazon, Kindle Boards is still the major site for self-pubbed authors to network an learn about the difficulties associated with self-publishing. Author Victorine Lieske, whose self-published debut novel sold over 90,000 copies and lead to agents seeking her out, has noted that her participation at the Kindle Boards played a key role in her success.

Good Book Alert Review: Pirates of Aden

Over at Good Book Alert, I review Daniel Rasic's thriller, The Pirates of Aden.