Raven Bower--Guest author from Hydra Publications

Today we have the pleasure of talking with Raven Bower, co-author of Primal and on the Hydra Publications roster. In our interview, she explores what it's like working with a spouse, agents, Hydra, and the process of writing role playing games. We welcome her to All Things Writing!

Mary Ann: What's it like to work as a husband and wife team? Do you ever have to go to your separate corners or take a time out?

Raven: It’s both a blessing and curse! We love working together but we do have to sometimes take a ‘time out’. As we’re both naturally stubborn people, we can sometimes get our sites on two entirely different things and working it out can take some doing.

Tell us about your latest work. I gotta say that the cover is awesome!

Our latest work is Primal, a gritty and saucy urban fantasy that mingles aspects of the supernatural world – Wrey’s talents with nature and Arvon, werewolves and other beasties – with crime fiction – including the ruthless organized crime gang the Rekin, the FBI, US Marshals and the witness protection program.

How did you get involved with Hydra Publications?

I loved their Hydra sigil! And as I browsed their site, their books and covers were intriguing. When I submitted and started talking to their editor, Frank, he was simply a great guy. Easy to work with, outgoing and into RPGs! We were very pleased when he offered a contract and have been in great hands ever since.

I have to say that I can understand where you are coming from here. I checked out the Hydra Publication site and have to say that I was impressed with the covers and with the stories being produced. I've actually had the good fortune to read several books put out by Hydra and will be reviewing them in the next few weeks. Good stuff!

So, agent or no agent? Where do you stand on agents and authors?

I think it depends entirely on the author. With the small to mid-range presses having an agent isn’t necessary and to a large degree, it’s unwanted. As in, most authors if they’re pro-active and outgoing, can make a better case for themselves and know their own work better – thus enabling them to find a better fit.

If the author is going for some of the bigger houses that are ‘Agent Only’ presses, then it’s best to gain an agent first.

A good agent is worth their weight in gold, a bad agent – eh, well, it’s better to have no agent at all than to deal with a rotten apple of that sort.

I notice that you also write RPG books, too. What kind of games do you create?

Mostly fantasy. We love to create game content – RPG scenarios, monster write-ups and the like. We’ve also done some editing to the d6 Epic program put out by Final Sword Productions and will be doing some GMing utilizing their system during the 2013 Convention season. Fun stuff!

Hydra Publications is also seriously considering opening up a RPG line, which, if they do, we’ll be hopping on board there as well to write content and scenarios.

Neither of us are into the actual mechanic development or writing though, we’re the content end.

How is the process different when it comes to writing a novel vs a RPG?

With a novel you have, almost, free rein and the main focus is providing an exciting read for your reader. You have full control of the characters and know each one like you know yourself, so the story flows and has natural congruity.

With writing RPG content, you have to pay attention to rules that might not be your own and the main focus is creating an adventure that players will find exciting to participate in. Since you’re never completely sure what sort of characters will participate – rogues, priests, warriors, mages etc. or what alignment they might be – good, evil, chaotic, neutral etc – that can take some doing!

Tell us where we can find you and buy your books!

All of them are available at Amazon.com –

http://www.amazon.com/Primal-Raven-Bower/dp/0615638821/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337259569&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Apparations-Raven-Bower/dp/1934153982/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334071636&sr=1-4

http://www.amazon.com/Wendigo-Raven-Bower/dp/1934153338/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1334071292&sr=1-2

Thanks for being with us today! I look forward to reading your book! For those of you already salivating over the cover, here is a little blurb about Raven and Lain's book, Primal.

Pursued by a ruthless crime lord after witnessing the murder of an FBI agent, Wrey must rebuild the life they stole from her. When she meets mysterious Arvon Night, her precious new life unravels as she's thrust into a web of betrayal, lust and violence.

Arvon knows he must slay Wrey to keep his secret safe from those who hunt him. Each hour his enemies stalk closer, ready to kill.

Can Wrey's powers of nature and spirit help her survive the yearning and dangerous Arvon and the tide of peril he brings with him? Or will an opportunistic hitman take advantage of them both?

How to Run a Book Giveaway!

As many of you know, I had a book release this week--Bayou Myth! Bayou Myth is a young adult horror novel set in Louisiana. It's about Joan Renault--a teenage voodoo queen in the making-- and her struggle to fight off the contents of Pandora's Jar once they are unleashed. I'm currently on a virtual book tour with the novel and so far, I am really pleased with the reviews. As part of my book tour, I'm doing an ebook giveaway using Rafflecopter. Interested in getting your own free ebook of Bayou Myth? Then hop over to my blog, LOESCH'S MUSE, and enter today!

Okay, now that I've got the shameless self promotion out of the way, let's move on to today's topic: running a giveaway. It probably doesn't seem all that difficult, but I've discovered that in order to be fair to your readers there are a few tips to follow.

1. If you can, offer more than one copy of the book. Sometimes publishers, especially small press, will frown on this, but I think you should push the boundaries as much as possible. The idea is to get your name out there! So be in a giving mood!

2. Don't rely on blog comments to help you pick a winner. Some people are too shy to leave a comment, but they really want to a shot at winning.

Which brings me to tip 3.

3. Use Rafflecopter. It's a pretty simple way to set up a giveaway. All you do is go to the Rafflecopter website, sign up for free, and then customize your giveaway. The directions for how to put it on your blog are pretty easy to follow. The great thing is that you look so much more professional when you use this particular tool.

Try it on your own blog and let me know how it works for you!

Here's the scoop

I'm going sort of off topic today. One of my blog mates actually encouraged this, so I'm not going totally solo rogue. Something wonderful happened Friday, but it started weeks and weeks ago. To add to the suspense, I'll start at the beginning and save the ending for..well, for the end.

Over the years, I've queried hundreds (yes, hundreds). Here are my Querytracker.com stats. 212 for one project--15 interested agents, 2 positive responses, but no offers. 55 for another project, 3 interested agents, no ultimate positive responses. 63 queries, 3 showed interest, but in the end no positive responses. That's a partial list because I was querying for a few years before I started keeping track on Query Tracker.

I had much better luck with small press. One of the first two I queried took CHOKE last year. However, we parted company in May and I am self-publishing the rest of that series.

Even though I say I had quit querying agents, there has always been one agency I'm interested in. That one is BookEnds. I've sent them proposals several times because of their excellent track records with cozies. I also know some authors who employ them and are happy there.

So, earlier this year, my good friend Peg Cochran/Meg London, who is writing two series for BookEnds and Berkley Prime Crime, alerted me to a new idea being put out by a Berkley editor, an idea for a series set in Texas, where I live. She encouraged me to turn in a proposal for it. I've done more than one proposal for BookEnds in the past, and they've liked some, but have never taken me on. A proposal is three chapters of a mystery, the synopsis for the rest, and sketches for two more books. These take me about a month. I have one of them that I would someday like to go ahead and develop, but it didn't get me in the BookEnds door.

I told Peg I just don't have an extra month right now. We're moving from the Austin area to the Waco area in the 13th of June and I'm also finalizing my second Imogene Duckworthy novel, SMOKE, to publish right after our move. (And yes, I'm also going crazy.)

Peg suggested I submit my novel, CHOKE, instead of a proposal. This didn't seem right, but the worst that would happen would be another turn down from BookEnds. (Their turn downs are polite, so it's not so bad.)

I submitted the novel, went to Malice, met the editor with the Texas proposal idea, and came home. Soon after Malice, I got an email from Jessica Faust, the agent I had sent the file to. She liked it! But didn't need more clients, and besides the Texas idea had been taken by someone else. BUT, she would forward my file to her partner Kim Lionetti. Two days later (2 days!), on a Friday, Kim emailed with positive comments, asking if I was available for a phone call on Monday! I had to postpone my husband's cancer treatment and the baby's open heart surgery (just kidding!), but I was there for the phone call.

 

All of my hyper-ventilating over the weekend was for nothing! We talked and even laughed, even though Kim had a bad cold, we sent some emails back and forth and worked out details, and last Friday, Kim emailed a contract! I signed it and mailed it back Saturday morning. I think it's official. After I had virtually stopped looking for an agent, and had gone whole-hog into self-publishing, I got an agent. I'll keep on with the Duckworthy series, but Kim will agent my Neanderthal series and the new series I'll write for her.

Life is strange! 

Review--Dead Meat by Chris and Patrick Williams

Brains….brains….I need brains…..mmmmm…..

Yeah. That's what I expected when I read Dead Meat by Chris and Patrick Williams.  I mean, c'mon. With a title like that, I figured the book would be all about zombies eating human flesh and walking around with no real destination in mind. Granted, there is some of that in this book, but there is so much more!

First of all, the word zombie isn't ever mentioned. Gavin, the narrator, can't deal with thinking of them as once being human, so he nicknames them bees. And they are kind of like that. These zombies sway and swarm together looking for a pattern to the world around them. Their world was once called River's Edge, a small town where rabies or "something" has become rampant. Though we never really find out what's up with that, it doesn't matter. River's Edge has a big problem with its residents eating each other and that's enough for Gavin and his new buddy, Benny, to try and leave town. Unfortunately, the government appears to have other plans for them and due to the "Exterminators" (soldiers at the edge of town who shoot both the living and the dead), their evacuation plan becomes harder than they imagined.

This is a gory book. It's graphic in its violence and though I consider myself pretty seasoned when it comes to reading about death, this had me shuddering from time to time. However, that being said, I would not say that this is your typical zombie story. It really isn't about working together as a team or defeating the military. It's about survival and how far you are willing to trust another human being. Benny and Gavin's relationship is a tenuous balance of power and allows growth in both characters. I went from hating Benny to really thinking he was pretty cool and the kind of guy I might want around at Doomsday. Gavin is our every man who has to deal with what's happening and then figure out who he really is--wimp or fighter?

I have to admit the ending did not make me happy. I sorta saw it coming, but I'm not a fan of first person narratives that end in this particular way. But that's just me and I won't spoil the outcome!

You can pick up your copy of Dead Meat at the following locations:

AMAZON DEAD MEAT

BARNES AND NOBLE

Bayou Myth

Well, I hate to do it, but I'm gonna! I'm tootin' my own horn! Today my young adult novel, Bayou Myth, officially goes on sale everywhere. I hope you'll check it out at my personal blog, LOESCH'S MUSE or perhaps at one of the buy links listed below.

I've been working on Bayou Myth for a while and it feels so good to have it available in ebook form, as well as, paperback. Next week I will be doing a virtual book tour through My Reading Addiction Book Tours which will include giveaways, interviews, and (gasp!) reviews--ten reviews to be exact!

Here is the synopsis of the book:

As a sixteen year old voodoo queen in the making, Joan Renault just wants to be like all the other girls in the small town of Monte Parish, Louisiana—obsessed with boys and swamped with social lives. If the other kids would quit calling her “hoodoo hag,” she might have a small shot at normality. It would also help if Joan’s weekend outings with her secret crush, Dave, weren’t always being interrupted by her dead Grandmere, the legendary Marie Laveau. After all, it’s hard to make out with your best friend when your grandmother is watching! But when you come from a long line of voodoo priestesses with dried gator heads decorating the wall of their huts, normal doesn’t come easily.

When Joan witnesses the brutal sacrifice of a child to a tree Druid, she learns her Grandmere’s scandalous past has come back to haunt those living in the present. Hera, a vengeful voodoo priestess, is determined to use the residual energy of Pandora’s Box to revive a sleeping voodoo god and declare war on the descendants of Marie Laveau, especially Joan. Suddenly, Greek myths are being re-enacted all over town, and Joan has her hands full trying to sort it all out. With the approach of Samedi’s Day—the voodoo day of resurrection—Joan must learn to accept her destiny in order to stop the approaching threat to her family and friends.

Feel free to learn more about me at www.maryannloesch.com or check out the buy links for Bayou Myth!

AMAZON

BARNES AND NOBLE

SMASHWORDS