Guest Authors Revisited - Jenelle Schmidt

I first interviewed Jenelle Schmidt back in March (you can read her original interview here), I recently caught up with her to find out what she's been up to since then:

What has changed in your life since we last spoke?
I have completed another first draft of a book in an entirely new series. Second Son got delayed a bit due to some big, wonderful family changes (my cover artist/sister-in-law had a baby). Other than that, not much.

Have you learnt any new wisdom?
I have learned that communication is better than wondering if someone is upset with you. I have learned that being in a business with family members is tricky and that even if you are non-controversial, it is better to be open and honest about what you need to have happen than to just be silent and stop communicating and hope that things work out on their own (they won't).

Have you become a better writer? If so, how?
I believe so. I hope that my writing is always improving. Every book I complete I feel is better than the last, which is how I think it ought to be. I also have written a few random short stories that have gotten a lot of praise from strangers, which is surprising, because I've always felt that short stories are definitely one of my weakest spots when it comes to writing.

What are you working on at the moment?
Currently I am working on a lot of editing. Second Son will be coming out VERY soon (hopefully), and I am hoping to release Book 3 in that series in 2014.

I am also working on the sequel to the book I finished in the middle of August. I'm trying to keep the wheels turning so as not to lose momentum!

Tell us about your latest release and how we can find out more.
Again, Second Son did get delayed, though the book/text itself is ready to go. I am very hopeful that it will be ready in September and available for purchase by October of 2013, but I am also not wanting to overwhelm my cover artist with any unreasonable expectations - as she has a 7 month old and is a teacher (and the school year just started up again).

You can find out more and stay up-to-date on my books on my blog: http://jenelleschmidt.com/blog or by checking out my facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/JenelleLeanneSchmidt - it's not all about my books, either, I post book reviews, movie reviews, author interviews, writing tips, and more at least 3 times a week!

King's Warrior is available from Amazon

Guest Author Interview - Justin Swapp

Welcome to the start of a new week and as has become customary we start the week with a new guest author interview. In today's interview we welcome Justin Swapp, you can find out what he has to say below:

 



Please introduce yourself, who are you and what do you do?
Hi, all. I'm Justin Swapp, I'm a lot of things. Professionally I manage multiple sales programs with lots of great employees across the United States. When I'm not doing that, I'm a writer, amongst other things. I've been published in several anthologies, and have just completed my first novel, The Magic Shop.

What first inspired you to start writing?
I've always enjoyed writing. If I had to pin it down to one thing, it would probably be my mother. In our younger years, she was the type that would give us a treat if we memorized a poem and things like that. She always enjoyed good books, and I think she instilled that in us. My grandmother (mother's mom) had also done some writing. So, that probably influenced me as well.
If you could spend a day with anyone from history, who would it be and why?
This is a tough one. Perhaps my grandmother, Sybil, who recently passed away. Why? Well, she wrote a short book called "Toronto Teddy," and no one can find it. Having written a book, and knowing what goes into it, I felt an absolute loss; an additional loss, upon learning that the manuscript had disappeared. I'd spend time with her, talk with her, and secure a copy to make sure it got published.

Are you a planner? Or do you prefer to dive straight into writing?
I'm a hybrid. My impulse is to dive straight in. I have more success, however, when I resist that urge, and think things through a little bit before I go crazy.

What is your favourite word?
I've been saying, "bugger" a lot lately - don't know why :)

What is the best writing tip you have ever been told?
"Write what you see." I believe that's from Stephen King's, "On Writing;" at least the audiobook version. So, yeah, he literally told me that.

What is the last book you read?
Monster Hunter International, by Larry Correia. His books are fantastic. By the way, he's also a great speaker. I've seen him at a couple of writing conferences.

What are you working on at the moment?
I'm working on the sequel to The Magic Shop. I'm currently plotting it out, and deciding what sticky, dangerous situations to put my main characters in.

Tell us about your latest work and how we can find out more.
My latest work is really two fold. First, I just finished a fun MG/YA novel entitled, The Magic Shop, which can be found here, on Amazon:

US: http://www.amazon.com/The-Magic-Shop-ebook/dp/B00CJCUCTG
UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Magic-Shop-ebook/dp/B00CJCUCTG

Back cover copy:

Marcus is a troubled youth. When his grandparents decide it would be good for him to tend the family business, a Magic Shop, Marcus is thrown into a world that he never knew existed. Not only is the family business a front, but Marcus learns that he has been marked as a dead man from the time he was born.

Marcus tries to develop his powers before the Dun-Bahr find him and assimilate the magic he was born with. Will he survive? Will he find his parents? First he must discover the secret his grandparents have been keeping from him all these years. It all comes down to what's hidden at the Magic Shop.

For additional information, you can always visit my personal website - www.justinswapp.com

Next, I had a story accepted into the final volume of The Crimson Pact anthology. This anthology is full of great authors, including some NY Times Best selling authors. The anthology stems from one original story entitled, "Failed Crusade." Based on that story over one hundred other stories in various universes have been written for this anthology - all about demon hunting.

The wonderful Paul Genesse was a co-writer of the original story, and the editor of the anthology. I have three stories in the five volumes, and I can say the end to the anthology is most epic. More will be announced soon, with the fifth and final volume coming out this summer. To find out more you can visit Paul's website at http://www.paulgenesse.com/

Books by Justin Swapp on Amazon:

Book Impressions - The Haunted Halls Volume 1 by Glenn Rolfe

I'll admit from the start that I'm not a big fan of serialised novels, the main problem is that you get so far into them and then they just end, there's no closure for the story you've just read. While I understand the process is intended to draw you into the next book it doesn't always do that, anything you read should have a sense of completion as it draws you into the next one.

So that is an issue with the story, although the story itself does get off to a good start. It centres around the Bruton Inn where dark events unfurl and here the author does show some flair. The story in the first part doesn't evolve a great deal, but does provide a taste for what could happen.

The writing is pretty good, but doesn't really stand out and unfortunately is marred by a number of editing errors. At the very least it needs another proofreading pass, it's not riddled with errors, but there were enough to spoil my enjoyment of the book.

In conclusion it shows some promise and I'll probably check out the second part at some stage to see how it evolves, but it could really have done with more polish before release.

What lies in wait at the Bruton Inn? Where did it come from? What does it want? People are checking in, but the little voices, the nightmares,the deep cold sinking into their marrow is changing them. What haunts these halls will alter those within its confines. Something big is unfolding, something dark- something evil. The haunted halls of the Bruton Inn welcome you. Checking in?

The Haunted Halls Volume 1 is available from Amazon (and it's an ok read)

Only 2 Weeks Left To Enter October's Short Fiction Contest

Image courtesy of Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

There's only two weeks left for you to enter October's short fiction contest. It's easy to enter, all you have to do is write a story of no more than 500 words based on this month's image and then submit the story on the contest page. I've received 17 entries so far and I'm looking forward to reading many more so get writing!

There's no entry fee and the write winning story will receive a £50 Amazon gift card, there are prizes for the second and third places as well. To take part visit the competition page here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/october-short-fiction-contest.html

If you haven't read the winning stories from September's contest then you should really give them a read, you can do so here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/september-short-fiction-contest-winners.html

A big thanks to everyone who has entered so far and please help spread the word through twitter, facebook and whatever your favourite medium is for communicating with friends and fans.

New Drabble - No Matter How Deep

My latest drabble (100 word story) has been posted in the Indie Book Bargains newsletter, take a look below:

No Matter How Deep

I couldn’t believe I’d been so careless. She stood there her face frozen in a rictus of perfect horror as she saw the mess I’d created. I hadn’t meant to of course, I’d been a little too enthusiastic in my investigations.

What can I say? When I start on a puzzle I’ll do whatever it takes to solve it. And this really was a tricky conundrum.

“My God, what have you done?”

“Looking for what you saw.”

“What do you mean?”

“You said she had the most beautiful soul, but I looked everywhere in her and I couldn’t find it.”

If you enjoyed reading this then take a look at my other drabbles here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/p/100-word-stories.html