For those who aren't aware, reddit has something known as an AMA, which stands for Ask Me Anything. I've done a few of them before, and I've always enjoyed the great questions that are posed. Today I'm doing another one and you can stop by from this link.
I've always been vocal about my views on things like the state of publishing today, the self verses traditional publication wars so I'll be happy to talk about that, my writing process, or any of my books. To get the AMA kicked off here are the bullets I outlined at the top of the thread:- My debut books, The Riyria Revelations are epic fantasy. They started out at a small press, then I self-published, and in late 2011 Orbit picked up the series and re-released the six books as three, two-book omnibus editions so each one has two full stories in it.
- My second series, The Riyria Chronicles, came into being because my wife got depressed because Revelations was over. It is a prequel and can be read before or after The Riyria Revelations
- Hollow World is actually my fourth science fiction novel, but the first one I've published. It wasn't a book I intended to write, but once the idea came to me, I just couldn't write anything else until I purged it from my head.
- I've written 23 novels and published 9. I spent more than a decade trying to break into publishing, and when I got no where after 14 novels I quit writing altogether. When I started writing again, it was only on the condition that I wouldn't seek publication. It was my wife who took up the publication work and eventually got me "out there."
- Hollow World has a really weird publishing history. It was turned down by Orbit, had a really high advance offered by another publisher that I turned down, had a really successful Kickstarter, and is now released as a hybrid...print version from Tachyon Publications, audio book from Recorded Books, ebook by myself.
- Some of the reasons I kept the ebook rights is so I could distribute DRM free, bundle ebooks for print/audio purchases, and provide multiple formats so people can read on any platform they want.
Feel free to ask me anything...that includes questions about publishing, writing, or any of my projects. I look forward to hearing from you. I hope some people will come on over - so I don't sit all alone hearing the crickets chirp.
I have, as an author, in the same mode of publishing as Mr. Sullivan, always have been selective in seeking out the writings of fellow authors wherein I might relax with in my seldom downtime. I have enjoyed the space operas of David Weber and the gothic violence of fantasy writer, Terry Goodkind. I seldom write reviews, merely going on to the next book, deciding there is little time and falsely believing the wider world will recognize when there is a wordsmith with talent.
ReplyDeleteSo I was greatly pleased in discovering for myself the talent and plot skill in reading the entire series of the Riyria Chronicles and Revelations. I found the sequence of plotting of this epic fantasy masterful as when supposed disconnected events at the beginning are threaded into a tight seam at the end, that the back end of the story does not seem to be flung together at the last minute. In this series the storylines work well that by the end I do feel like I have followed an 'epic' where all the heroic characters constantly in adverse and painful conditions come together for the final quest.
The writing was well constructed where chapters ended with either the cliff-hanger or the unanswered outcome so that the next chapter title hinted somewhat at what might be possible.
Above all, I need to pay a special kudo to the reader, Tim Gerard Reynolds, who did an excellent job of separating all voices into distinct personalities. I bought the oral reading through Audible and was only sorry that this medium does not supply the usually expected map of the realm. Have to go find that map to track and re-live a few of the travels.
All in all, I had an excellent time in the fictional travel, and hope Mr. Sullivan considers writing a new epic fantasy, and finds for himself a strong marketing mainstream publisher (heed my words Thor), and goes onto greater success. Best wishes, S.P. Grogan (www.spgrogan.com)