Friday, February 24, 2012

William Trelawny - The Adventures of Riley Raccoon


I welcome author, William Trelawny. He's talking about his book, The Adventures of Riley Raccoon. Riley Raccoon, is moving up the charts at Amazon!
How long have you been writing? Well, aside from AP English class, I suppose I’ve
been writing since about 8th grade. Nothing serious, of course, and nothing I’m ever
going to publish, but I wrote short, isolated stories or short stories and poems. I
would write from inspiration, much like in Riley Raccoon, but back then I would
always encounter severe writer’s block and the story would end up just being a
single scene. Riley was the first story I wrote that just kept writing and writing,
mostly writing itself. I’d never experienced that before, and it was wonderful that I
was actually able to finish Riley and publish him.

Your book is for children but it will appeal to all ages. Do you feel that's important when writing for children or young adults? When I started Riley, I had a vague intention of it being a children’s story- being about raccoons and all. But as I wrote,
I disregarded all marketing aspects and just wrote what I felt the story should
be, regardless of readers’ age, background, etc. I wrote Riley for me, and what I
wanted him to be. And the deeper, more mature themes and morals just manifested
themselves as I kept writing, eventually to the point that it was hard to consider this
a simple children’s book, because there’s much in there a child alone might not be
able to understand.

Is there a moral to your story? Yes, most definitely. Riley learns, primarily through
the guidance of Charlotte, that the world is filled with mediocrity and creatures
that can’t recognize nor respect beauty and perfection, such as his three “havens”
represent. Riley learns he must do everything in his power to protect and preserve
such beauty in the world, for as long as it exists, it is in danger of being defiled. This
translates very accurately to our current world, in which mediocrity in humans is
praised, and true beauty is either ignored or destroyed by the common average.

What do you do in your spare time...hobbies?
 
I enjoy finding ways to live minimally.
I plan on traveling around planet Earth and not spend a fortune doing so.
More conventionally, I enjoy playing baseball, composing music, and reading
philosophically challenging books.

What is your writing process? Do you outline or wing it?
I personally don’t like
outlining a story. Unless, of course, you’re writing non-fiction. I did not have an
outline in Riley, I suppose you could say I winged it. But I had a general idea of
what I wanted to happen and what themes and morals I wanted to convey. But like
I said, the story practically wrote itself. Riley and Charlotte are two personas I am
intimately familiar with, so I basically just sat them together and let them talk to
each other, myself acting merely as a scribe of their conversation.

Do you have a favorite author? There are three different things I like about my three
favorite authors. Cormac McCarthy- his writing style, though not too apparent in
Riley’s story (that would surely be something to read- a McCarthian adaptation of
Riley Raccoon!), is very brutal, especially his dialogue scenes. Ayn Rand- for her
philosophical themes and way of embedding them so deeply and effectively in her
fictitious stories. And
Charlotte Bronte - for her classic prose, and beautifully artistic
descriptions. That’s probably the strangest mix of authors you’ve ever seen…

Has any author inspired you to write? Well early on, I was very influenced by
Charlotte Bronte. I read Jane Eyre my freshman year and proceeded to write some of my
short story/scenes, which were extremely descriptive and artsy. After a few years,
though, Cormac McCarthy added his style to the mix. My senior year, I did a series
of short western scenes that were heavily influence by his writing style. It was a lot
of fun, and helped me fine tune my writing style. Once again, a strange mix- like
peanut butter and mayonnaise…

Share something about your publishing journey. You went Indie. Did you submit to a traditional publisher
? No I did not submit to a traditional publisher, I decided to go all on my own this first time through. I wanted to get a first-hand taste of what
the eBook industry was all about. I began by publishing to Smashwords, Barnes &
Noble, and Amazon, but had little success. So just recently, I joined KDP Select and
am going Kindle-exclusive for 90 days. We’ll see how that goes I guess…

How did you come up with the idea for your book? My book was inspired by my
partner, as stated in the dedication. She is a wonderful person, a brilliant mind,
and a lovely woman. She has taught me so much over the years, and I. She is my
blackberry bush, my willow tree, and my view from the boulder on the hill.

Are you working on something new? Yes, if you caught my previous statement, I do
plan on making Riley a series. For those who’ve read the book already, the second
takes place immediately (literally the next sentence) after the first book. The 2nd
installment details the life of Charlotte before she arrived at Riley’s hamlet. I realize
that may not make sense to those who’ve read it, so I’ll say that it is a flashback
story.

You can find William at:
Wordpress: http://rileyraccoon.wordpress.com
Amazon:

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Author - William Petersen



How long have you been writing?

 - I've been writing fiction for about five years, although, I've only recently developed the courage to actually release a story for others to read. I've held a freelance, non-fiction writing position for nearly ten years, and at the urging of some of my clients, I took the plunge and wrote a story with the intention of commercial release, right from the start. From that, my first story: "Mythical", a short urban fantasy thriller, was born, and I've been addicted to fiction writing ever since.

Is there a particular genre you prefer to read or write?

- I absolutely love dark stories of horror, sci-fi and fantasy, but I'm partial to the thriller component in any type of genre. I love to be scared, confused and shocked when reading. I like books that make me stop and think or consider, "What would I do?", or ones that just make me look up and say, "Wow".

What do you do in your spare time...hobbies?


- I'm fanatical about any outdoor activities. Much to the annoyance of my friends, I try to camp, hike or fish anywhere, at anytime. I'll camp or hike in the dead of winter or the height of summer. The natural world never fails to amaze me. My ultimate goal is to become an eccentric mountain man, living in the wilds of Alaska, that somehow still has a laptop and Internet connection in the uncharted wilderness.

What are you working on now?


- I am currently working on my fourth story, and like the first three, it is also a modern-day thriller, with many tie-ins to the issues surrounding conservation, nature and mankind's balance with the world. "A New Empire", is a story about greed, misinterpretation and misguided beliefs, pitting a modern-day hippie-chick and an underachiever approaching a mid-life crisis, against a determined and resourceful foe that is using a clever veil to carry out a plan of world domination, right before the world's eyes.

What is your writing process? Do you outline or wing it?

- I start with a very clear and detailed outline, one which covers the basics of a beginning, middle and an end, then everything is "wing it" from there on. I actually find that once I begin writing, physically putting words and sentences together, the story takes on a direction of its own. Sometimes, it will behave and follow the outline, at other times, the story writes itself a new outline, whether I want it to or not. That is how I know they are good stories, but telling them effectively and writing a 'great' story, well...that's the trick I'm trying to learn.

Who's your favorite character? Why?


- My favorite book character of all time has to be "Gard", James Gardener, from Stephen King's: The Tommyknockers. I love the unlikely good guy.

Has any author inspired you to write?

 - Just about every book I've read has inspired me, in one way or another, to write. However, some of my biggest influences are Stephen King, Michael Crichton, Dean Koontz, Isaac Asimov, Larry Niven and Clive Barker, though the list goes on and on...

Share something about your publishing journey. You went Indie.


 - I decided to publish a collection of shorter (50,000 words or less) stories as a way to have something available online that readers, editors and publishers could look at anytime, in a completed and polished format. I have to say, it has worked out beautifully. While self-publishing does have its limitations, I have opened a few doors with it, and encourage those considering it to go for it, but don't spend your hard-earned money doing it. I've published three books and a compilation, promoted them and generated a few sales, not many, but a few, without spending any money or paying for any promotions. If you publish for free, you are then free to use your money for the toughest parts: advertising, building a following and generating sales.

I see you have a web design background. is that for fun or profit?


 -Web design is really what got me started writing full time. Years ago, in a land far, far away...I opened a small website design business in my home town, and it turned out that customers needed just as much content writing as they did website building. As the economy slowly put the last of my clients out of business, more and more writing opportunities opened up, until I was freelance writing non-fiction and fiction full-time. I started putting more time into developing my own stories and writing skills and today, the only thing I really design are my book covers and advertisements.

Share links or excerpts from your work, blogs.


My author blog, http://www.WilliamPetersen.Wordpress.com  is devoted to promoting new and upcoming authors and writing resources, even more so than my own writing, as I know from personal experience just how tough it is to be your own agent, publisher, editor and marketing department. My new motto is "As a GROUP of independent writers, we can make our own market...", and I firmly believe that.

Alas, I still need promotional help as much as the next author, so please take a moment and preview my new books:

"Mythical" - A modern urban fantasy novella about the last magical creatures on Earth and those chosen by fate to protect them.
Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Smashwords and iTunes

"Underground" - A contemporary adventure thriller illustrating how racism, intolerance and indifference open the door for a new breed of monsters to repeat some of the darkest moments in history.
Amazon and Smashwords - Coming soon to B&N and iTunes

"Staying the Hand of God" - A science fiction thriller following mankind's race to escape the impending doom of a restless planet Earth and those who would accept the demise of the human race as the inevitable will of a higher power.
Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Smashwords and iTunes

"Three Thrillers" - A compilation of the above three stories in one, discounted collection.
Amazon and Smashwords

Thanks for reading!
W.P.


Thank you William! What a wide range of genres, there's something for everyone to read and enjoy.