Have you ever had a minor character
evolve into a major one? Did that change the direction of the novel at all?
Absolutely!
In fact, my current novel, Of Love and Vengeance, originally started out as Lord
Hugh’s story – but Lord Aymon wouldn’t behave and keep quiet as a secondary
character should. So, I started to delve a little more into Aymon’s story and I
quickly realized that Of Love and Vengeance was Aymon’s story and Hugh became
the secondary character.
How long before you got your offer of representation/your first contract? Was it for your first novel?
If memory serves me correctly it was within 30 days. I’m with The Wild Rose Press and they are brilliant at not keeping the author hanging on for months, or even years, waiting to hear an answer. I signed with them for Of Love and Vengeance.
How long before you got your offer of representation/your first contract? Was it for your first novel?
If memory serves me correctly it was within 30 days. I’m with The Wild Rose Press and they are brilliant at not keeping the author hanging on for months, or even years, waiting to hear an answer. I signed with them for Of Love and Vengeance.
What factors influenced
your decision to go with a particular agent or publisher?
I
did my research and asked around lots of author friends. I know a few authors
who were already with them and I only heard good things about them. One of the
things that hugely influenced me was their speed in which they responded to
emails. That may not sound like a big thing but I’m still waiting to hear back
from publishers who requested a partial submission more than a year and a half
ago. So, responding to emails (promptly) and not leaving authors hanging was a
major factor for me. Also, I knew The Wild Rose Press are not so massively big
I’d get lost in the grand scheme of things. That’s also very important to me.
My editor there is brilliant and from my first contact with her I knew things
felt right.
Are you currently under a traditional publishing contract for future books or do you have manuscripts that you will self-publish? Are you doing both?
At
the moment, I’m still pretty knew to the publishing world, so I’m happy being
with a digital first publisher. I get asked a lot why I don’t self-publish – I
have nothing against those who self-publish. In fact, I only have the upmost
respect and total awe for them. They don’t only have to be brilliant authors
but fantastic business people too. I am not a business minded person. Yet.
Perhaps down the track, once I learn more about the publishing world, I’ll
self-publish. But at the moment I’m not yet ready to go down that road.
Do you belong to a critique group? Have they helped improve your writing?
When I first started out I had a few critique partners and I really found them useful. But, I had an extremely bad experience with one of them, so much so that I actually stopped writing for a few years. It caused me to really lose confidence in my writing. When I started writing again I decided not to have a critique partner. And that was a huge thing for me. It took me so long to get the confidence in my own writing back and trust myself as an author. Are critique partners a bad thing? No. Of course not. They can be extremely beneficial. But for me, for the time being, I’m happy flying solo. Who knows what may happen down the track!
Do you outline your story or just go where your muse takes you?
Honestly?
I just go where the muse takes me. I greatly admire those who can sit down and
plot. Me? I’m a panster through and through. I love not knowing where my
characters are going to take me. It’s exciting. Yet, it can also me a massive
time waster! I’ve written so many scenes that end up on the cutting room floor
simply because I didn’t have an outline as to where I was going. I have tried
to plot. Once. It ended with me throwing the sticky notes across the room and
screaming at the top of my lungs, ‘I give up!’.
Besides Amazon, are there any other sites where your books are for sale?
Besides Amazon, are there any other sites where your books are for sale?
You
can find Of Love and Vengeance at all the major sites. Here are my buy links:
AMAZON
US: http://amzn.to/1zW0SZ3
AMAZON UK: http://ow.ly/GGmSn
The Wild Rose Press http://ow.ly/FT0oK
AMAZON UK: http://ow.ly/GGmSn
The Wild Rose Press http://ow.ly/FT0oK
Nook:
http://bit.ly/1E35qRb
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1rd3y2C
iBooks: http://bit.ly/1Hq9Yh7
Google: http://ow.ly/GGmWb
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1rd3y2C
iBooks: http://bit.ly/1Hq9Yh7
Google: http://ow.ly/GGmWb
What kinds of marketing [twitter,
facebook, blog, forums] are you involved with for promoting your book(s)?
I
love social media – I’m completely addicted to it. So, you’ll find me on all
the usual sites… Facebook, Twitter, website, blog.
I
also belong to a forum called, Romance Divas. It’s a fantastic group of romance
authors who share the highs and lows of the publishing industry. They are a
group of the most supportive authors I’ve come across. I love hanging out
there.
Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and writing your next book?
Oh, yes. Very much so. I have to admit I was somewhat naïve before Of Love and Vengeance came out. I thought it would be released and I’d do a bit of marketing and that’d be it. I’d then have all of this time to sit down and write the next book. Well, I’ve been slapped in the face with a huge dose of reality! I probably spend double the time doing marketing than writing. BUT, I happen to like the marketing side of things. However, it does mean I have to become very strict with me time so nothing gets left behind.
Besides writing, do you have any other passions?
Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and writing your next book?
Oh, yes. Very much so. I have to admit I was somewhat naïve before Of Love and Vengeance came out. I thought it would be released and I’d do a bit of marketing and that’d be it. I’d then have all of this time to sit down and write the next book. Well, I’ve been slapped in the face with a huge dose of reality! I probably spend double the time doing marketing than writing. BUT, I happen to like the marketing side of things. However, it does mean I have to become very strict with me time so nothing gets left behind.
Besides writing, do you have any other passions?
I
have to admit – I’m an avid knitter! I love it – I find it so relaxing. I can
sit in front of the tv or listen to some music and just let my mind go (usually
thinking of my characters) while I whip up a scarf. It’s summer where I live so
I haven’t done much knitting lately, so I’m eagerly waiting until the cooler
months set in so I can whip out my needles again!
Forced
to marry Lord Aymon to ensure her young nephew’s survival, English Lady Laila
vows undying hatred for the Norman she holds responsible for the deaths of so
many innocents. Discovering Aymon has committed an act of treason gives her the
chance to seek vengeance he deserves.
But can Laila let Aymon die at the hands of the king once she learns the
truth?
A
hardened Norman warrior, Lord Aymon has lived through atrocities no man ever
should. With the invasion of England over, all he wants is a quiet life and a
wife who will give him heirs and obey his every command. Instead, he finds
himself wed to feisty and outspoken Laila. But when she learns the truth of his
treasonous act, can Aymon count on her to keep his secret?
BUY LINKS:
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Louise grew
up in country Victoria, Australia, before moving to England, where for sixteen
years she soaked up the vibrancy of London and the medieval history of England.
She has since returned to Australia and now lives in Melbourne.
She has
been writing the moment she picked up a copy of Diana Gabaldon's first
Outlander novel twenty something years ago. She thought to herself, 'this is
what I want to do' - not travel back in time, but become a novelist! She has
always had snippets of dialogue and scenes floating around in her head with
characters screaming at her to bring them to life.
In 2013,
Louise won first prize in the Crested Butte Sandy Writing contest – Historical
category for her story, The Promise, which is now called, Of Love and
Vengeance.
When not
writing, she can be found covered in mud, crawling under barbed wire and
hoisting herself over twelve foot walls - under the guise of competing in
Spartan races all over Australia.
AUTHOR
LINKS:
EMAIL: louise_lyndon@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.LouiseLyndon.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LouiseLyndon1
Pinterest:
llyndon3513
GOODREADS:
https://www.goodreads.com/LouiseLyndon
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