Have you ever had a minor character evolve into a
major one? Did that change the direction of the novel at all?
I always love when this
happens, and it’s happened a couple of times in my writing. The most memorable
one, though, would definitely be Trystan, from the Xenith trilogy. In the
beginning, he was meant to be a minor character—just another small obstacle for
the main character to overcome. By midway through the first book, I knew he’d
already turned into the main villain, because he was always so prominent. But
then by the end he made it clear he wasn’t going to settle for that role either,
and he became a main character and real love interest. Book two, which focuses
a lot on his character, would have been so different if it’d gone the way I’d
originally thought it would.
Did you try the traditional route to publishing, i.e.
querying agents/publishers?
I did. I sent out queries to
agents and publishers for projects like the Xenith trilogy, while also
self-publishing other works on the side. It’s definitely a lengthy process,
filled with a ton of rejection, but I was prepared for that. I’m still looking
for an agent, but I’m happy that I was successful in getting at least one
project traditionally published! I think it’s really important when working
towards something like writing to stay positive and not give up.
How long before you got your offer of
representation/your first contract? Was it for your first novel?
I signed the contract with
Swoon for the first book in the trilogy, Amid Stars and Darkness, when I was
25. I’d graduated at 21(a month before turning 22), and started sending out
queries to agents and publishers by 22, so it took about 3-4 years for me to
get a project accepted. This wasn’t my first novel, I wrote that when I was 16,
and I’d been self-publishing already. I self-published my Underworld series
right after graduating, so I was already doing that while searching for agents
and a traditional publisher for ASAD. I pretty much consider Unhinged, the
first book in the Underworld Saga, as my first seriously published novel, since
it’s one of the first things I self-published with the goal of getting readers
and possibly doing more with it (it was published through an indie press for a
short time before I went back to self-publishing it). Because it’s my first
official work, I don’t consider it as good as the Xenith trilogy, but it’s come
to mean a lot to me over the years, and I’ve learned a lot through the
self-publishing process which has helped me improve my writing.
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?
I’ve got a few things I’m
waiting to hear back on from a couple different traditional publishing houses,
but I also have a YA urban fantasy coming out in October which will be
published by Aionios Books, a small publisher. I’m really excited to share this
book with everyone! It’s a lot darker than the Xenith trilogy, with a twisted
romance and a lot of hidden, and obvious, betrayal. To sum it up briefly, it’s
a book about a girl who can see Unseelie faeries, who’s gotten involved with
one of them in the hopes to break her family curse. Then there’s also the final
book in the Underworld saga which will hopefully be announced sooner rather
than later!
What factors influenced your decision to self-publish
your book(s)?
In the beginning, I knew it
was going to be timely and difficult to search for a traditional
publisher/agent. I also knew I
didn’t want to feel like I was wasting time while I did that, and wanted to try
and learn as much about the industry myself as possible. Self-publishing was a
way for me to get feedback from real readers I didn’t know, ones who wouldn’t
be bias or sugarcoat things for me, that I could learn from.
Through self-publishing, I
was able to better understand what it is readers tend to look for in a cover
and blurb, what they like and dislike the most when it comes to general plot,
and whether or not my particular writing style was well received. I thought it
was important for me to have something like that on the side, so that every
time I did receive a rejection letter I could go back and read a nice review
from someone on my self-published book. Even though I was prepared for it, it’s
obviously hard receiving rejection letters, at least once you’ve passed three
or four of them. Self-publishing was a great way of keeping my moral up and
teaching me things I needed to know in order to better myself as an author.
This helped me change my pitches and continuously write something better than
the last thing I’d written. Eventually, that led to me writing Amid Stars and
Darkness and my getting signed by Swoon so, I think it was a good decision on
my part.
Do you outline your story or just go where your muse
takes you?
I like to just let the story
unfold on its own. If I over plot something, it tends to fall apart on me. I
lose that spark of inspiration and all the fun gets sucked out, so I end up
getting bored and leaving it by chapter three. Typically, I like to just start
with a basic concept and a few characters names. I’ll know the names of my main
characters, like Delaney, Ruckus, and Mariana, but won’t delve too deeply into their personalities or
looks, I let that write itself while I go. For instance, I had no idea Delaney
was a redhead until that description popped up while I was writing.
Did you hire an editor to review your manuscript
before publishing?
For all of my self-published
works, yes. I got an editor to look at them, as well as a couple beta readers,
since I was putting the books out there on my own. Even with all that, there
were still a couple mistakes that managed to slip through. That’s the tough
part about self-publishing, if anything goes wrong, it’s one hundred percent
your fault. Still, my editor did a great job and I’m grateful that I found her.
Besides Amazon, are there any other sites where your
books are for sale?
The Xenith trilogy books are
available through all bookstores, while my upcoming book, Tithe, will only be
available through Amazon. My self-published works are available there, as well
as through Smashwords.com, so ebook versions of it can be purchased for Nook
and e-readers other than Kindle.
Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between
marketing your current book and writing your next book?
It is a little difficult,
only because so much time has to go into both, and if I get distracted with
something for marketing, and lose my train of thought for the book I’m
currently writing, then I have to break for a bit and hope that inspiration
comes back. There’s also the fact that there are a lot of things that can go
wrong or pile up with marketing, and writing while in a bad mood or frustrated
doesn’t really work well for me. Currently, I’m working on marketing the book
coming out in October (the first book in a new trilogy), as well as the final
book in the Xenith trilogy (Within Ash and Stardust) and writing the second
book in this new trilogy. Usually I can write a book in a matter of weeks, but
this one has stretched to over two months now because I keep getting busy with
other things.
Some fun facts about you, which do you prefer – dogs
or cats? Chocolate or vanilla? Coffee or Tea? Talk or Text? Day or Night?
Oh, I love these questions
because I am a hardcore cat person (although I also have a dog named Finch) and
am obsessed with coffee. I can’t even tell you how many lame knickknacks I have
lying around just because they have a cat or coffee “theme” to them. I also
prefer text over talk, because I can text and still work, and I am a night owl.
Most of my best work happens during the night, and I’m usually up pretty late—like
between 2-4 am.
Within Ash and Stardust
Chani Lynn Feener
(The Xenith Trilogy #3)
Published by: Swoon Reads
Publication date: July 16th 2019
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Having gone from kidnapped faux princess to the legitimate heir to an intergalactic throne, an impulsive, sarcastic teen must take charge of her own destiny in this epic YA novel.
On Earth, Delaney is a normal teenager who recently graduated high school with a fantastic best friend and a loving boyfriend.
But Delaney isn’t on Earth. She’s on Xenith, a war-torn planet half a galaxy away. Originally mistaken for an alien princess, Delaney has gone from kidnapped imposter to the recognized heir to an alien throne. Oh, and she’s engaged to the prince of an enemy nation whose ruthless father is on the warpath.
Torn between two planets, two fates, and two loves, Delaney is finally ready to choose her own destiny in Within Ash and Stardust, the stunning conclusion to Chani Lynn Feener’s Xenith Trilogy.
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo
Author Bio:
Chani Lynn Feener has wanted to be a writer since the age of ten during fifth grade story time. She majored in Creative Writing at Johnson State College in Vermont, and graduated in 2012. To pay her bills, she has worked many odd jobs, including, but not limited to, telemarketing, order picking in a warehouse, and filling ink cartridges. When she isn’t writing, she’s binging TV shows, drawing, or frequenting zoos/aquariums. Chani is also the author of teen paranormal series, the Underworld Saga, originally written under the penname Tempest C. Avery. She currently resides in Connecticut, but lives on Goodreads.com.
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