Interview With Author Ivan Amberlake

I'm very proud to introduce my readers to a writer I've known for many years, Ivan Amberlake. He was even so kind as to supply the quote on the cover of my first novel. Ivan writes urban fantasy stories, and he's holding a giveaway on Tome Tender, plus you can get Ivan's three books for only .99 each for Kindle!

Ivan, you are the only writer I know from the former Soviet Union. I've passed through Byelorussia but never really got a chance to visit there. What can you tell us about where you live? Anything about yourself you are willing to share?

Byelorussia, or Belarus, is a very beautiful country. It’s often called a land of blue lakes and green forests. Nature is gorgeous here, believe me. I live in Vitebsk, the cultural capital of our country where lots of music festivals are held every year. It’s rather a gloomy place as we have here only around 3 months of sunshine, which probably influences me and my writing, but I still love this place.

You speak and write English so well. I'm envious! How did you learn such great English? Do you find it difficult at all to write in a language other than your native Russian?

Well, I had great teachers at school and university who inspired me to study English. This language sounds very beautiful to my ear. I studied French at school, German and a bit of Polish at university, but none of them can compare to English. Writing in English is challenging at times, but that’s the beauty of it. It’s really hard work, but it’s an amazing feeling when I have a finished manuscript on my hands that I’m happy with.

You seem to enjoy writing about conflicts that are very black and white, dark and light. Do you do that on purpose?

I love the contrast between light and darkness. Even if we take ourselves, all of us have light and darkness within us, and it’s we who choose where we belong. The sharp contrast of Light and Dark was used in the first book of The Beholder series to introduce the world of the Lightsighted and Darksighted, and I didn't want the readers to get confused. In Book 2, Path of the Heretic, I added some shades of gray to this world, which I hope made the book more enjoyable. No spoilers here, sorry!

What made you choose Americans for your main characters?

I've always had doubts about whether my characters should be American or let’s say Russian. One of the reviewers of The Beholder mentioned that the story could take place anywhere in the world, which probably happened because I couldn't decide on the setting and the characters up until the end. I decided against Russian characters because it might lead to people comparing it with The Night Watch series by Sergei Lukyanenko.

Do you foresee continuing to write in this same 'world', or are you writing new things?

The Beholder and Path of the Heretic are the first two books in THE BEHOLDER series. There will be another one about Jason, called Creatures of Lumen, and hopefully one more written from Emily Ethan’s point of view where the readers will get to know about Emily’s life before she meets Jason.

Apart from that, I do have a great idea for a YA futuristic novel not connected with The Beholder series, which I’m excited about, but I’m not sure when I’m going to get to it and finish a first draft.

You are one of the first of my writer friends to indie publish. How has your experience been so far?

Self-publishing is tough. Writing a book is only the beginning of the hard work. After that you have to realize that there are thousands of writers out there (both indie and traditionally published), so you just can’t expect to sit and hope that once you've published your book people are going to buy hundreds and thousands of copies of it. I spend hours promoting my books everywhere I can. One of the best places to promote books is Goodreads, where I’m always happy to meet new friends and offer them copies of my novels, hoping that they will enjoy my writing and post reviews. I also contact a lot of bloggers, and I have to say most of them are really nice people. They are really busy promoting our work, which is really cool. I don’t know what I’d do without all their help and support. Self-publishing is tough, but it’s also a lot of fun and chatting with really nice people, so I don’t regret I went indie.

What were your writing influences? Did you always want to write, or was there a catalyst that made you suddenly decide to go for it?

Some ten years ago I had no idea I would start writing, let alone writing in English. I loved and still love reading books in English (I never read books in my mother tongue). So I thought it would be a great idea to write a book and devote it to my girlfriend (girlfriend at that time, now wife).  

Do you have a goal with publishing? Are you going to become the Byelorussian J.K. Rowling?

The Byelorussian J.K. Rowling? Haha, it’d be nice! Not sure where all of this is going, but I’m happy to know that people enjoy my latest release, Path of the Heretic. It means I need to keep writing more and let as many people know about my books.

Do you have a particular target audience for your books? What books are out there whose readership might love yours?

The Beholder series may appeal to young adult and adult readers whereas Diary of the Gone, a paranormal suspense novella, is aimed at 13- to 15-year-olds, although adult readers seem to enjoy it as well. I always try to create an exciting story that won’t let the readers get bored, but will keep their attention until the very end.

Thank you for the interview, Ted! It’s a real honor for me to be featured on Cross Words!

Interview with YA Fantasy Author Samuel Ferguson

I was surprised recently to learn that a colleague of mine from work (when I was in Budapest) also writes fantasy. He's been quite prolific, in fact, with seven novels out. His books are aimed at Young Adult Fantasy lovers, and his most recent will be especially interesting for anyone who loves dragons!

Author Samuel Ferguson with one of his sons

Sam, I’ve only known you as a colleague at work. What can you tell us about where you live? Anything about yourself you are willing to share?

 Sure thing Ted. First, allow me to say thanks for doing this interview, I appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule. I was born in Houston, lived in multiple cities in seven different states growing up. Outside of the U.S. I have lived in Latvia and Hungary previously. At the moment I live in Yerevan, Armenia. I am married, have six sons, and when I am not writing or spending time with my family, I am usually in the gym throwing some iron around.

We are practically neighbors, with me in Azerbaijan and you in Armenia! Will you only write fantasy or do you plan to write in other genres as well?

I am a fantasy lover first. Most of the books I read for pleasure are fantasy, and so are almost all of my stories. I do have a couple of ideas that fall outside of fantasy, but those are far down on my to-write list.

What were your major influences?

That is a very good question. I have many authors that I enjoy, and each has taught me something about either the mechanics of writing, or the imagery one can achieve in story-telling. Among the authors I can readily name would be R.A. Salvatore, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Terry Goodkind. My first fantasy novel that I read was the Dragons of Autumn Twilight in the Dragonlance series. I believe I was in 3rd grade at the time. I was hooked on fantasy ever since. In my writing, I am not trying to be the next Tolkein or Martin. Instead, I write stories that I would like to see more of. As I write them, I try to incorporate the best of what other authors have shown me. For example, I find Goodkind to be a nearly perfect writer in terms of mechanics. His books are long, but there are no wasted pages. Every thing he introduces plays an actual role in the story, even if it is hundreds of pages later. I admire that. I also love the way Le Guin weaves her stories with excellent imagery that is not overly verbose. While I do not hold myself in their company in terms of talent, I do try to emulate what those great authors have done by improving my own style, voice, and mechanics.

I so love Le Guin's Earthsea novels. Some of the best fantasy ever written, and it's a shame that many young people these days are unaware of them. My youngest son loves Salvatore's work, and I enjoyed Goodkind and the Dragonlance books myself when I was younger.

How has your publishing experience been so far?

It was a long road. Long, and very bumpy. I submitted my first book to a publisher that shall not be named. They accepted it, despite the fact that it was a rough draft. That was my introduction to vanity presses, and I was in for a very sharp learning curve! Afterward, I got discouraged. It was my wife who pushed me to continue writing despite the setbacks we experienced. As the years drudged on, I wrote a few ideas down. I expanded some and discarded others. I took some writing courses, and joined the League of Utah Writers. I submitted a couple of short stories to Writer's Digest competitions. I never won, but I placed in the top ten. Then, I won a few awards for stories and full length manuscripts. Yet, it seemed no publisher wanted to look at my manuscripts. So, like many authors I turned to Kindle and Amazon. I published my own work and enjoyed good success. Reviews were almost all positive, and the few negative reviews helped me sharpen my skills. My first book, The Dragon's Champion, was a good hit in the YA fantasy genre. It, and the three sequels that have been published since, have all spent several weeks on Amazon's Sword and Sorcery top 100 list as well as Amazon's top 100 Epic fantasy list. Now, I am with Dragon Scale Publishing and I am optimistic about the future. One day I would love to write full time, but until then I count myself as successful as long as people enjoy my books and it helps my children break away from video games for a bit.

What were your writing influences? Did you always want to write, or was there a catalyst that made you suddenly decide to go for it?

I had been interested in stories and poetry since I was young. I entered a couple of elementary school competitions. The big catalyst though was a friend I had in Colorado named Jeremy. Jeremy had the idea of writing a fantasy novel and showed me his draft. I would say that is the moment that I caught the bug. I have been writing books ever since.

Do you have a goal with publishing?

I am really enjoying the ride. It is always fun to watch people's faces contort into a bewildered and excited grin when they come over to my home and see a shelf of books only to discover that I wrote the series. Also, it gives me a very gratifying feeling when I see my own children pick up one of my books. I guess that's it really. If I can give readers an experience that they would choose when there are so many other things in this world clamoring for their attention, then I win.

Do you have a particular target audience for your books? What books are out there whose readership might love yours?

I aim most of my books at the YA market. I would like to think that anyone who enjoys Forgotten Realms or Dragonlance books would thoroughly enjoy mine as well.

You just published a new book right?

It's called The Dragons of Kendualdern: Ascension. For this one I tried to break away from some of the more mundane fantasy tropes. I wanted to explore what a dragon society might look like, and how it might operate. I also included dwarves, but in this book they are not only allied with dragons, they serve them. I don't want to give away all the details, but I think this book has quite a few new and intriguing ideas in it for dragon fans.

You sure have some standout covers! What is the crux of the story?

The book centers on Gorliad, a dragon prince who is destined to one day carve out a kingdom for himself. Unfortunately, while the dragon is still young, there is a battle with a rival dragon challenger that leaves Gorliad crippled and rips his heritage away from him. Gorliad is left with a choice, lie down and accept his new life, or rise up and develop into his full potential. In the book, dragon society is very strict and class-based, so if he chooses the latter he will likely be shunned or expelled. Throughout the book Gorliad struggles against his physical handicap and the draconian traditions placed upon dragons. He literally risks all that he has in order to follow the yearnings of his heart. I think it is a great read... but then again I am a bit biased.

Thanks again for inviting me to have this interview with you, and may I take the opportunity to wish you great success in your own writing endeavors.

It was great having you here, Sam, and I'm looking forward to following your writing career!

Sam's blog: Talesfromterramyr.com

Dragon Scale Publishing: Dragonscalepublishing.com

Learn more about Sam and his YA fantasy books on his Goodreads page!

Publication Lesson Learned

I had everything all set to go. My Kindle version of The Shard, my new epic fantasy novel, was ready for publication on May 1. I had the paperback version ready on CreateSpace. All I needed to do was receive the proof copy to see that it was good to go. I received that today and it looked great.

I had free ARCs out to various reviewers, hoping to have some reviews ready early on when the book gets published. I wanted to take full advantage of the one month that we get on Amazon to be on the Hot New Releases list.

But when I hit 'accept' on the proof copy today, the paperback went live on Amazon rather than into pre-purchase as I wanted. And that means the one month clock already started for Hot New Releases, and nothing is ready. The Kindle version isn't published, which is what gives the most sales numbers for Hot New Releases. The reviews aren't ready. I'm very discouraged by what happened.

But I'll have to make the best of it and just go with it. So, yay, my second book is published. Even if the copyright pages all have the wrong publication date listed!

For anyone interested in the book, there is a nice map that goes with it that you can print out to help you follow the journeys of the characters. Either click the link on the right bar or look at my last blog post where the map is reprinted. Thanks in advance for all support! And a big lesson learned for me.

Publication of Epic Fantasy Novel

Today my epic fantasy novel The Shard first appeared on Amazon. It is only for pre-order, since the actual publication date is May 1, but it's still fun to see the book show up on Amazon for the first time.

Original artwork for The Shard by Shane Tyree

It's funny but The Shard was actually the first novel that I wrote, from 2006 to 2009. I had trouble being completely satisfied with it, so I put it aside and concentrated on my second book The Immortality Game, which felt stronger to me.

Cover art designed by Vic Caswell

For those who don't know, The Immortality Game is essentially the backstory of the wizard character Xax from The Shard. I create quite a vivid background story for everyone involved in each novel, and for me the story I developed to explain how a Russian scientist from Earth happened to become a wizard on another world was fascinating, so I kept thinking more and more about it until I simply had to write The Immortality Game.

I have several more story ideas within the fantasy world, so I decided to call the series the Chronicles of Xax, since the one character appearing in all of them is the wizard Xax. I don't intend for any of the books to be a traditional trilogy where each story flows directly from the last. I wanted them each to be able to stand alone but also fit within the longer arc of history. So, for example, the next one in this series that I am writing, called The Shattered Spire, is set 800 years prior to the events in The Shard. Long ago I even published the prologue for it.

Map of the Known Lands

I entered this novel into the Kindle Unlimited program for a specific reason--I expect the audience to be more narrow than for my first book, so I have lower expectations for sales. Thus I felt it worthwhile to experiment with KU at first.

Why do I expect a narrower audience? Because fantasy fans are quite divided between those who are sick and tired of anything even remotely related to Tolkienesque fantasy and those who love it and crave more. I understand the first set of people to some degree, but I am firmly in the latter camp. My book won't appeal to those who never care to read about an elf again!

False Tension in Books, Shows, and Films

I've been thinking a lot about dialogue recently, since I feel I am decent at it but not great. Looking at writers who seem to always have fantastic dialogue, like John Scalzi, I wonder how they manage it. Is it just a natural gift? Do they write dialogue in their first drafts that is just as pedestrian as ours but then go back and edit it into a masterpiece? I wish I knew. I've left comments on Scalzi's blog a couple of times asking if he would do a post about how he so consistently manages brilliant dialogue, but he has ignored my requests. Who knows, perhaps he doesn't consciously know how he does it because it comes so naturally to him?

I have noticed one thing with dialogue lately while watching shows and movies or reading books, and it as starting to upset me. Writers are constantly creating false tension in their stories by purposely making their characters either not say enough when they can or by simply having them not say anything at all when they should. All the time there will be scenes when someone asks a question, and the other person could very easily just give a straight answer, but instead they don't, and that causes the tension to rise in the story. I know, I know, the writer wants the tension to rise, but to me this is a false way to do it, and it's maddening. Rather than have an actual plot point be the cause of the tension, the writer builds the tension by having one character simply not bother to provide key info to others. The more I have this in mind, the more often I see it happening in all the stories I'm watching and reading (but far more often when watching!).

As much as this pisses me off, it makes me wonder if this is a weakness of mine as a writer. Am I simply too forthcoming with my dialogue? Do I always just tell what seems common sense to tell and thus allow the potential tension to melt away in my stories?

Help With Book Blurb

I feel pretty confident as a writer of novels, but I have always felt I am terrible at writing query letters and blurbs. I'd love to get some opinions from you all as I go about writing the blurb to my forthcoming epic fantasy novel The Shard. (tentative publishing date is May 1)

Here is my first attempt:

A dying king. A mysterious invader. The seer's vision was clear—find the lost shard from the Spire of Peace or the realm would drown in blood. The problem—eight hundred years ago the elven hero Kathkalan took the shard with him into the lair of the most vicious dragon ever known to mankind...and he never returned.

Fate draws together a most unlikely group of heroes:  a minor noble who, after losing his heir in a tragic accident, is desperate to protect his two remaining sons; a pair of elderly rangers who are the first to learn of the deadly invaders sweeping toward the Known Lands; a tinker's son heading to East Gate to serve his two years of duty protecting the realm; an ancient elf warrior out to learn what happened to her lover Kathkalan; and three dwarves on a secret mission to reclaim their lost homeland. Each must overcome impossible odds if they are to find the lost shard and save the realm.

Honestly I can't judge it. The more I read it the more fault I find in it, yet each time I try to rewrite it I feel that I'm only making it worse! If you are a reader of epic fantasy and are not part of the group that thinks elves and dwarves and such are overdone, would such a blurb interest you? Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Can the second paragraph work better like this?

Fate draws together a most unlikely group of heroes:

- a minor noble who, after losing his heir in a tragic accident, is desperate to protect his two remaining sons;
- a pair of elderly rangers who are the first to learn of the deadly invaders sweeping toward the Known Lands;
- a tinker's son heading to East Gate to serve his two years of duty protecting the realm;
- an ancient elf warrior out to learn what happened to her lover Kathkalan;
- three dwarves on a secret mission to reclaim their lost homeland.

Each must overcome impossible odds if they are to find the lost shard and save the realm.

My Problem With the Young Adult (YA) Category

When I was growing up there was no Young Adult category for books. There were certainly books aimed at what we now call a YA audience, but they were simply categorized under their primary section, such as Fantasy or Mystery and so forth. I have to admit I kind of preferred it that way.

However, the only true issue I have with the new YA category is that everyone seems to insist that the protagonist in the book must be a young adult. I think this is wrong. To me if you want to have a YA category, the only real rule for inclusion should be that the story is intended for a YA audience. I've read plenty of books that were clearly aimed at a younger audience but didn't have teen protagonists.

Shane Tyree's artwork for The Shard

The reason this is hitting me right now is that I intend to publish my epic fantasy novel The Shard later this year, and to me it should fall in the YA category, yet only one of the three main protagonists is a teen (and he is the last one to be introduced, so you might say he isn't the primary protagonist).

I'm wavering over just categorizing it as Fantasy or insisting that it is YA. The YA buying audience these days is much larger than for standard Fantasy. My teenage sons would certainly agree that the book is aimed at them. My youngest keeps re-reading it over and over again, and both of them name all of their characters in both computer and role-playing games after characters from the story, so it clearly resonates with them more so than it does for adults.

What do you think, can a story with adult or even elderly protagonists fall within the YA category?