Two Ends of the Pen: Interview with Kathy Coleman, SEALER'S GAME

Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series?

Sealer’s Game is my first novel. It’s the first book in my fantasy romance series, The Sealer Saga. Sealer’s Game is about Lucian Veradayne, the Lord of Death, who is given a mission to convince the moon goddess, Ruby, to have a child with him. Lucian and Ruby, who are from two distinct lines of Sealers (essentially Gods) are the only people in existence who can create a being capable of thwarting a foretold calamity that will otherwise destroy an entire realm. Unfortunately, they hate each other.

Lucian’s mission is both enhanced and complicated when he meets Ruby’s latest Champion, Carita. He is immediately drawn to her, but isn’t sure how to deal with his attraction toward her considering the mission that has brought them together. But since his opportunity to get Ruby to comply with his mission comes in the form of competing in a contest she has created to find a male worthy of bearing a child with, and Carita has offered to help him claim a place in that competition, the two must work together and learn to trust one another.

Do you have a favorite character?

In this book, Ruby was hands down the most fun to write. I adore writing villains, especially when they are just going through their lives and have no idea that other people think they are evil or even bad. Ruby’s moods and actions span such a wide range of emotions. On one hand, she is lonely and can be vulnerable, but has no idea that the way she has taught her followers to relate to her is at the root of her solitude. On the other hand, she can be vicious and totally lack what most of us would consider a conscience. Lucian hates her because the two have had a child before and she cut out one of his eyes and then tried to drown him. She is also a snarky character who tends to get some really funny lines and reactions to certain situations, which is always a plus.

Have you ever had a minor character evolve into a major one? Did that change the direction of the novel at all?

Later in Sealer’s Game readers get to meet Ruby and Lucian’s son, Zakariah. When I first ‘met’ Zak he was actually part of another character (whom I won’t spoil here) who eventually took on a life of his own and became his own person. I think what I love most about him is that despite having dark and potentially frightening powers—he’s the Lord of Fear, Pain, Judgement, and Healing (that last one is complicated and has a history!)—he is actually a very gentle person who deals with social anxiety, loves gardening, and is extremely protective of small animals. The way others perceive him and who he actually is are two drastically different things.

Sealer’s Game is the first book in The Sealer Saga, but it’s not the first book I’ve written with these characters. I actually have four additional novels and a prequel novella in various stages of development. I’ve been writing about these people and their world for almost ten years now.

What factors influenced your decision to self-publish your book(s)?

In my late teens and early 20s (late 90s / early 2000s) I was all about studying different imprints and trying to write to fit within them. It was a good next step from fan fiction and helped me learn to write consistently and within a set of parameters. But there were certain things I wanted to do in my writing that weren’t really ‘to market’ at the time, and back then my primary focus was on trying to pursue a career singing country music, so in the end it was more of a daydream than something I took with deep seriousness.

I sat down and wrote my first novel, which would eventually be titled Sealer’s Promise, back in 2011. Self publishing was just starting to find its legs and I studied it while running a book blog (I Write, I Read, I Review) for three years. But I knew my stories weren’t ready yet. The overall arc of the Sealer Saga was still forming and despite having several books in the series written I had to figure out what order I wanted to present things in.

Once I decided it was time to publish, the choice to self publish was a matter of wanting control. Not so much over the publishing process—although that’s been fun and I've enjoy the learning the necessary skills—but over the future of my characters. I am very invested in them and the idea that someone could essentially end up with the right to tell me I could or couldn’t write them again depending on whether they sold well was a big pass. Would I like success? Sure. Who wouldn’t? But I care far more about telling my stories and being able to tell them how I want to tell them.

What is your writing process? Do you listen to music or do you like silence?

A story has likely been rattling around inside my head for months or years by the time I start trying to pin it to paper as an outline or a draft. Music is vital to my creative process and characters, scenes and places within my story world are all tied to different music depending on what is going on. Sometimes I’ll play music when writing, sometimes I’ll choose silence. But even if I’m going to write in quiet, I usually start with whatever music I associate with the characters who are in a scene or the music I’ve associated with that scene before I get into my writing program and get to work.

Do you outline your story or just go where your muse takes you?

I view my outlines as story maps, like I’m on a road trip with my characters and we are trying to get to a set destination. If they want to take a detour that’s fine, but they need to show me where and how we’re gonna get back onto the highway—or if we’re going to need to recalibrate. When I’m doing a rough draft I’m all about forward momentum. I keep a file open to make notes on what and where I’ll need to go back and change previous decisions when I get to my first round of revisions so I don’t have to do too much hunting for my big changes. But as someone who writes my first drafts linearly—I want to experience the story as much like my readers will as possible—getting from start to finish without too much stumbling or fumbling is important.

What have you’ve learned during your self-publishing journey?

I did a lot of the design production aspects of my book, most importantly the formatting and the cover. I actually really enjoy the design processes for both of these things. I don’t think I’m really interested in pursuing them in a business sense (making them for others), but as someone who really enjoys learning new skills, and who had years to research and learn this stuff, the fact that I know how to put a basic book together—let’s be real: I’m not saying I’m on the same level as a professional designer—is pretty cool.

My biggest weaknesses are that I’m not aggressive enough in marketing my work (yet) and because of Early Onset Osteoarthritis my hands can get very tired / sore, which can make it harder to keep up with having an update blog / active online presence, which is essential in convincing people to check out an actual book. A book, by itself, is a very hard thing to get someone to take a look at. There is a legitimate time investment involved in that, even if the book is 'only' $2.99 or something.

When I was doing music and trying to get 3 minutes of someone’s time for a song, that wasn’t as much of an ask. That’s where and why articles, short stories, podcasting, youtube or whatever other online presence an author can create is so essential. It’s way easier to convince people, over days, weeks and months, to invest in you than to get them to flip open to that first page without somehow proving you're worth their time.

What advice would you give a new author just entering into the self-publishing arena?

A) Write something you want to read. I understand that, depending on your goals, you might just want to finish a book. Or you might want to make tons of money and be a best seller. Your goal for publication could be something totally different. What I can tell you is that regardless of what your goal is, writing a book you would want to read will put you ahead because it ensures you’re wring a book you believe in and that you will be proud of. There are many things in the later stages of self publishing that are hard to control. What we write about isn’t one of those. Control is the biggest advantage an indie author has, so take advantage of that while you can.

B) Know what your goal is as an author, but be willing to set realistic milestones along the way. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s highly unlikely that you will publish your book, turn in for the night, and wake up as the next Stephen King or J.K. Rowling the following morning. Self publishing frees a writer from needing to be chosen by a publishing house. But that comes at the cost of needing to be chosen by readers, and they can be just as—if not moreso—discerning. Remember, it’s not merely the cost of your book. The true cost that a reader pays when they commit to consuming something you (or I!) have written is their time. And time is way more strict than money—there are no refunds or exchanges.

C) Be prepared to play the long game. When you are getting started and releasing your first book, it can be very tough to get those first readers and reviews. That can be frustrating, because building that initial foundation is really important. There are two things you need to remember. The first is to not give up. We all start here and while sticking with it won’t necessarily guarantee success, giving up immediately upon the first sign of struggle will guarantee failure. The second is to realize that a lack of immediate success does not automatically mean that you or your book sucks. It’s a lot harder to convince someone to read 300 pages of text than it is to get them to listen to three minutes of music.

D) The best way to promote your first book is to get your butt back in the chair and get busy writing the second book. Building a backlog of quality writing that a new fan can devour when they do, finally, discover you means that your readers have more books to buy and that you are actively and consciously learning new things as an author. Because that’s where most of our learning about the craft of storytelling comes from. Being knee deep in the next tale, standing next to our characters (or behind them, or hovering like a fly on the wall, or whatever analogy strikes your fancy!) as they face the greatest and most meaningful challenges of their lives.

E) People get to live one life. Readers can use that life to explore a thousand more if they so choose. And as authors, we are granted a chance at having one of the lives we have constructed be one of the lives those readers chose to envision and explore. I think that’s quite an incredible privilege. So whatever you’re sitting down to write, make it count. Not everything you say on a page needs to be true—after all, many of us (myself included!) are writing fiction. But by starting from a point where we are writing a story we believe in, we can ensure that when a reader chooses to invest in our work, that we are presenting, to the best of our ability, a book worth reading. And that’s something to be proud of.

Besides writing, do you have any other passions?

I’m really into decorative planning and journaling. I love stickers, markers, washi tape, and documenting my life in creative ways that are distinctly unique to me.

I am a lifelong fan of video games. Turn based and strategy RPGs tend to be my favorites if I’m playing. I’ve also invested hundreds, if not thousands, of yours into MMORPGs like World of Warcraft. What I can’t play physically because of my arthritis or cerebral palsy, my boyfriend will generally play for me. We beat Far Cry 5, Far Cry: New Dawn, Mortal Kombat 11, Assassin’s Creed 3 Remastered and Resident Evil 2 Remastered, among other things, this year. We're currently working on Death Stranding together and playing Pokemon Sword and Shield with the intent to trade and battle each other.

I got really into board gaming this year. Some of my favorites include Pandemic (normal and legacy), Gloomhaven, and Rise of Queensdale.

I’m a bit of a shopaholic. Not in the sense that I spend tons of money, though. My favorite aspect of discovering new interests or products to enhance my existing hobbies is spending countless hours studying what’s being offered by a variety of different companies and choosing those I want to add to my own collections. I have a very set amount of living space and need to make these choices with care.

What’s next for you?

I am busy revising Sealer’s Queen, which is the sequel to Sealer’s Game. I’m also getting ready to write Sealer’s Key, which will be the third book in the series. I always try to make sure I have a rough draft of the next book well underway before I get too deep into editing the next book or worrying about releasing it, because I want to make sure the books connect properly and its much easier to make changes to something when it hasn’t been published yet. I get annoyed when changes get made to things after the fact (Yeah, I’m lookin’ at you Marvel Cinematic Universe…) so I wouldn’t want to do that to my readers.

Thanks very much to Two Ends of the Pen for having me on their blog today. I had a lot of fun answering these questions and I hope someone found something here interesting or helpful. :)

Sealer’s Game
Kathy Coleman
(Sealer Saga #1)
Publication date: October 22nd 2019
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Hell hath no fury like a goddess scorned…

As Champion, Carita of Bel Auryn thought she would spend her days fighting demons. Instead, she is drawn into the latest scheme of the Moon Goddess, Ruby: a contest to choose a man who will have the “honour” of fathering her child.

When Ruby encourages Carita to choose a man for herself, she picks the man she is most drawn to–and immediately regrets it.
Lucian Veradayne is the Lord of Death. He knows he must win Ruby’s game at any cost. It doesn’t matter that he has avoided her for two thousand years. Nor that she tried to kill their first child. And it really doesn’t matter that he would much rather woo Carita.

The Soul Well has given Lucian a prophecy: he and Ruby must have another child. A child who will save the world.

Dealing with their mutual attraction will be the least of Lucian and Carita’s problems. They are not the only ones who have been drawn into Ruby’s game. Someone else wants to win. Someone who wants Ruby dead. Will Carita and Lucian be able to protect her long enough for a victor to be named? And if they succeed, will they be able to walk away from each other to ensure the prophecy is fulfilled?

Sealer’s Game is a 55,000 word fantasy romance novella about the King of the Underworld, a kick-butt warrior priestess, and a ruthless goddess who will stop at nothing to get her own way. It contains language, descriptions of violence, and sexual themes that may not be appropriate for all readers. Recommended for ages 18+.

Goodreads / Amazon

Author Bio:
Kathy Coleman lives in a little town in Ontario with her parents, one younger brother and two mischievous little dogs named D'Argo and Coco. She attended Trent University, majoring in English and Cultural Studies.

When she is not being kept awake at 3 a.m. by characters who refuse to quit talking, she can be found performing karaoke at charity events, updating her book blog I Write, I Read, I Review, shopping, or playing video games.