An Interview, An Author, and a Magic 8 Ball: Daniel Arenson

Welcome back to my interview series An Interview, An Author, and a Magic 8 Ball! I'll be bringing you a new author and a new giveaway every Monday this year. I hope you'll stop by to check out these  authors and enter to win some prizes!!!! :D

Please welcome international best-selling fantasy author Daniel Arenson!!! Read the interview, then enter to win: 
one ebook of Moth

MJ: Tell me about your novel in your own words, not the official synopsis.


DA: Moth is about a world that stopped turning many years ago, leaving it torn between day and night. Its one half lies in eternal daylight, the other in endless darkness. On each side, people have been evolving separately. The daylight people live in a lush land of plenty, the eternal sunlight giving rise to jungles, swamps, and forests. On the dark side of the world, all plants have vanished, and people have evolved to survive in darkness; their eyes have grown large, their skin is pale, their hair is white, and they feed of mushrooms and bioluminescent fish. Each side fears the other. When the people of daylight invade the darkness, vowing to defeat the "demons of the night," they find that things aren't quite what they believed.

MJ: I'm a big fan of your Moth series, which anyone who follows me knows! What's your next release?

DA: Moth is part of an ongoing series. Empires of Moth, the second book, was released last Christmas. The third volume, Secrets of Moth, is being released this month. The fourth volume, Daughter of Moth, will follow later this year

MJ: I cannot wait! If you were trapped on an island, what three books would you want to have with you?

DA: David Copperfield -- a book about what it means to be human.
Dragonlance Chronicles and Legends -- old favorite fantasy books.
The Chronicles of Amber -- another old favorite series.
My own books -- not to read but just to place on a bamboo shelf, reminding me of my old life.

MJ: Ooooh, great selection! :) What is your favorite color?

DA: Creepy goth purple, The Birthday Massacre style.

MJ: Niiiiice. Love it! What do you wear when you write?

DA: The nice thing about being a writer is that you don't have to wear any pants. The downside is that I'm not allowed to write in Starbucks anymore.


MJ: That Canada - so strict about their pants. In the US, the signs say: No shirt, No shoes, No service. We don't have to wear pants. ;) What's your favorite vacation spot?

DA: A couple years ago, we went to Rice Lake in Ontario. Very peaceful!

MJ: I love Ontario. So many beautiful places. Do you have any pets?

DA: We're currently looking to buy a dog. I'll get back to you. :)

MJ: Aw, doggie! Good luck in your search! Now, I need YOU to ask ME a question about absolutely anything under the sun. It has to be a yes or no question and will be answered by my all-knowing Magic 8 Ball! The question can be serious or silly - it’s up to you.

DA: Will the next Star Wars movie be great?

MJ: OMG, I predict it's going to suck (but you know I'll see it in the theater anyway).

M8B: It Is Decidedly So

MJ: Oh, fine then, M8B. Disagree with me, why don't ya? We'll see if it's any good. We'll see...
Daniel, thanks so much for stopping by my blog. It was great chatting with you!

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

Of Sea and Stone Cover Reveal

Say hello to Of Sea and Stone by Kate Avery Ellison

Coming February 2014


Synopsis:
All her life, clever Aemi has been a slave in the Village of the Rocks, a place where the sea and sky meet. She’s heard the stories about the fabled People of the Sea, a people who possess unimaginable technology who live below the waves in the dark, secret places of the ocean. But she never dreamed those stories were true.

When a ship emerges from the ocean and men burn her village, Aemi is captured, and enslaved below the waves in Itlantis, a world filled with ancient cities of glass and metal, floating gardens, and wondrous devices that seem to work magic. To make matters worse, her village nemesis, the stuck-up mayor’s son Nol, was captured with her, and they are made servants in the same household beneath the sea.

Desperate to be free, Aemi plots her escape, even going so far as to work with Nol. But the sea holds more secrets than she realizes, and escape might not be as simple as leaving…



Add it on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20456671-of-sea-and-stone


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AUTHOR BIO
I've been making up stories since I was five years old, and now I'm thrilled to be able to do it as a full-time job. I have an obsession with dark fantasy, dystopian futures, and Pride and Prejudice-style love stories full of witty banter and sizzling, unspoken feelings. When I'm not writing, I'm creating digital art, reading funny blogs, or watching my favorite shows (which include TVD and BSG). I live with my geeky husband and our two bad cats in Atlanta, GA

New Novel Updates!

In the world of self-publishing, releases happen fast. Really fast. Some indies pump out a book or more a month. Not me.

When I burst onto the SP scene in early 2011, I already had three novels fully-edited and vetted, ready for publication (Anathema, Oubliette, Sleepers). During 2011, I wrote one novel and began a second (Severed, Afterlife). In 2012, I finished one novel and wrote a second (Afterlife, The Sundering). In 2013, I've written one novel and been working steadily on another (Shucked and the untitled work-in-progress).

Some days I feel as if I'm falling behind, but when I look at what I've really accomplished, I've been quite steady in my writing.

If the past is a predictor of the future, I should have a release before the end of the year. I'd love that to be true, but it may take a little longer. Here's why:

In the past, my novels have been YA and they've clocked in around 55,000 words. The book I'm working on now is epic fantasy, for adults. I've broken 65,000 words and I'm anticipating at least 80,000 words, but I'm hoping it'll be more than that. Maybe even closer to 100,000 words (which is normal for a debut epic).

I'm not a math whiz, but even I know this means it'll take me double the time to write this book as it's taken to write the others. Not to mention I'm managing multiple points of view and a new world far more expansive than any I've ever written (including a custom map I've commissioned from Stefanie Verish). This book is the biggest, most exciting project I've ever tackled. Add on one of the most personally chaotic years of my life, and well, you've got one crazed author.

I'm excited about my upcoming novel. It's chock full of dragons, magic, new frightening beasts, a dangerous world, and plenty of enigmatic characters. So hang in there with me, readers. I'm working hard to bring you the most ambitious novel I've ever written!!!

XoXo,

Megg

Cover Reveal, Part Deux

Here's the second piece of the cover of my next book!!!! I hit 10,055 words this morning. :)

Cover Reveal: Sleepers Rebooted

When I originally commissioned the artwork for Sleepers from Robin Ludwig Design, I was absolutely in love with it. I still am.

But as I prepared to continue with the trilogy, I had a really hard time coming up with concepts for what I wanted the other two covers to be. I had heard about artist PhatPuppy months ago and knew she designed some cover art for Amanda Hocking. I spent hours going through her website, falling in love with multiple pieces of artwork.

The more I combed through her art, the more I realized that there were pieces that embodied exactly what I was looking for. A couple were perfect, in fact. I decided to take the plunge and use her artwork for my next two books. Yet...it wouldn't match Sleepers original cover and I needed this trilogy to make sense visually. It was agonizing for me, but I decided to recover Sleepers.

Here it is and I hope you love it as much as I do!!!!!!!

 

Thank you so much to the 83 bloggers who are revealing Sleepers' new cover on their blogs today. I am eternally grateful to each and every one of you!!!!!! :D

If you haven't read Sleepers yet, I have it priced at only 99 cents!!!! Check it out now! :D

Exceeding a Goal & Setting New Ones

When I decided to self-pub, I worried about sales. A LOT. I worried that my  mom would be the only person to buy my book. I worried no one would ever find my novels and I would be a sad, pathetic failure.

Luckily, someone (not my mom) bought my book on the first day it uploaded to Barnes&Noble. I hadn't announced it was there and I still have no clue who that person was, but wow, what a mental boost.

Success stories swirled in my head: Amanda Hocking, Joe Konrath, John Locke, LJ Sellers. I never once thought I'd be in their ranks. Did I want to be? Sure. I still want to be a famous rock star too, but it's not like I'm focused too heavily on it (particularly since I can't sing).

My goal all along has been to be a solid midlister - never a superstar. I wanted to build a solid fanbase of readers who like what I write. Simple? Ha, well, not as simple as it might seem.


Over the first month, a number appeared in my head: 1,000. I wanted to sell 1,000 books. That, I decided, would be my goal.

Well, earlier this week I surpassed 1,000 sales. It took me nearly seven months, but who cares? I DID IT! 1,000 paid sales of my books. It's unreal.

Now that I'm on the other side of 1,000, things don't look too awfully different. There's no BMWs, no champagne and caviar parties, no afternoons lounging by the pool while I watch the pool boy from the corner of my eye.

I'm looking forward. I want to be like my friend Sarra Cannon who has sold over 35,000 books. 35,000. Makes me seem like small peanuts, but it also reassures me there's a market out there for kick-ass YA novels. (You'll read more about Sarra on my blog in a few weeks - she's amazing and I know you'll love her as much as I do.)

Someone, who shall remain nameless, suggested I shouldn't tell anyone that I just hit 1,000. Why? Because there are authors out there doing better than me and some people might assume I'm not good enough because I'm not among the elite.

I call foul on that. There will always be someone better than me at everything I do. That doesn't mean I shouldn't celebrate what I have accomplished. Let's all stick our our tongues at that person and blow!!!!




 My eyes are focused ahead. I have great things in the works - new YA fantasy novels, a MG fantasy, a contemporary YA, and a series that will make you question everything you believe in. As for a sales goal, I'm now looking towards 5,000 sales. It could happen next month (yeah, right), or in two years, but I'm not giving up until I get there.

Thanks for riding this crazy roller coaster with me!!!!