Knight Watch Press, publisher of THE DEMON KING, has officially closed its doors, which is big news for me because this means THE DEMON KING is homeless once again and will be needing a publisher.
Correction.
THE DEMON KING doesn’t need a new publisher because I’m going to self publish it myself. This wasn’t an easy decision to make, but at the same time it made perfect sense. The book is only a novella and right now I have my hands full with other projects, so I see no reason why I can’t just upload it and market it as an ebook by myself. This will give me the option of making the book FREE sometimes, which I love because I want people to read it and like it and be able to enjoy it as long as they want to. So, in a way this is good news and could possibly help me out tremendously. The book will not be released, however, until I retain full rights back from Knight Watch, which will not be a problem, and until I have the opportunity to get a cover made and I also want to go through the book again with a little red pen and actually there’s a paragraph in there I’d like to change.
IN OTHER NEWS…
I’m also editing an anthology for a new publisher, and there will be details released about that soon, but if you’re a vampire fan, you may want to pay close attention because I’ll have submission guidelines for you asap.
Also, Willow Lake is being rejected over and over again, but I haven’t lost hope with it. I’ll eventually find a publisher. If I don’t find a home for it and TDK does well on its own, I may push it out there myself, too. We shall see.
Since it is now 2013, I’m going to let everyone in on a little secret. From January 1,2012 to December 31,2012, I kept all of my emails–even hate mail– and kept a list of questions folks have asked me about myself (as a writer). I figured one day all that stuff may just come in handy. Today, I went through them and thought they really would come in handy as a neat little blog post. I’m only sharing ten, though, because some were just very personal. Those were filed away elsewhere lol.
Yes, smoking is bad.
1– Where do your stories come from?/How do you come up with your stories/plots?
Well, I’m sure this is the question most authors are asked most often. In fact, I’d put money on it. The answer isn’t so simple, though. Sometimes a plot can come from a lightning bolt type stroke of luck from the plot goddess(lol) and sometimes they come from elsewhere. Sometimes, I can just tell a story off the top of my head from scratch. I do this often. I have kids who enjoy bedtime stories, as it is. I began writing my Immortal books more from frustration than anything else. I’d read the Twilight books and didn’t agree with them and they didn’t agree with me, either. I had problems with the characters of those books. They just weren’t believable to me and I decided one day to write my own vampire story. A friend of mine, Joanna, egged me on. She told me to keep going and that’s how it happened. I’d wake up every morning, begin writing, finish a chapter, send it to her, and wait to see what she thought of it. And, thus, two books were born. The Demon King was different. I had finished watching The Tudors and thought to myself it would be nice if Jonathan Rhys Meyers was a vampire. And then I laughed to myself that some demon King Henry VIII would be one heck of a vampire. And then I said, “Well, self…he should be a demon, rather than a vampire, then.” Draken was born from JRM’s performance as Henry VIII in Showtime’s The Tudors.
Willow Lake was written quite differently than my other books, though. The characters are very dear to me and the plot was wrapped around them. Celia Burne is an alternate version of myself. Paul Gray was based on a fallen soldier from my dreams. I’ve had recurring dreams since the age of fifteen involving an old white house on lakefront property with a willow tree in the yard. I know every inch of the property and the willow tree is usually where I see the fallen soldier in my dreams. Over the years, the fallen soldier has sort of become my conscience. Yeah. Crazy, right? lol. I expanded on Celia and Gray’s personalities, gave them backgrounds, and created more characters for the story. To date, Willow Lake is the book closest to my heart.
All this being said, every writer creates their stories differently and are inspired by different things. More often than not, music is a big inspiration for me as well as artwork.
2-Why don’t you just skip the book business and turn your work into movies?
Because sometimes it just doesn’t work that way. I do not write screenplays or scripts (I’m horrible at it), so unless someone decides to buy the movie options from me for one of my books, I guess I’m just going to have to wait and see if it ever happens lol.
3- When is the sequel to The Demon King coming?
Probably never. Or, maybe never. I don’t honestly know that I’ll ever finish writing the sequel. It’s been started, but in the midst of my writing, the publishing company that published The Demon King has apparently downsized and are now no longer accepting novel or novellas for submissions. This means that if I write it, I have to find someone else to publish it. And heck–I’ve even toyed with the idea of writing it chapter by chapter and pushing it myself in a blog somewhere specifically for The Demon King. So sorry for those who were looking for a sequel. I really do apologize. I had every intention of writing one and then everything on earth got in the way. I promise you all this, though–If and when there is one, I’ll make sure you’re all the first to know.
4-How much money are you making from your books?
Next to none. Everybody knows writers starve.
5-“Can you please write a zombie novel? Pretty please!!!” -Kate in New Orleans via email. <–That one isn’t even paraphrased. It came straight from the email, but I’ve been asked this question quite a few times as many of my writer friends actually do write zombie novels and short stories. Even my own child wants me to write a zombie novel.
Kate (and everyone else), I love zombie novels and movies. Unfortunately, I write what I know and what is in my heart and on my mind. If one day a few characters are created in my head and make me feel like they need to live in a zombie apocalypse type setting, I’ll definitely write a zombie novel, but if that doesn’t happen, I won’t force myself to write it just because zombies are hot right now.
6- Why don’t you write a ________ book instead of writing about creepy weirdo stuff?
My mother has told me she thinks I should write a Western. My mother-in-law once said I should write a children’s book. Others have asked that I write anything else. Some people are just not paranormal fans. I am a paranormal fan and I love reading about other worlds, paranormal creatures, unrequited loves, lost loves, and anything creepy in general. Also, this question goes along with number 5, but I felt it deserved its own number because I need to explain that I can’t just pick and choose what I write. It chooses me.
7- Do your piercings hurt?/Why the heck did you put holes in your face?
No, they do not hurt. When I got them done, they hurt a little, but not much. Frankly, I like them and that’s why they’re there. I do not intend to get any more piercings, though I’ve flirted with the notion. I do, however, intend to get one more tattoo. It’s on my bucket list, anyway.
8- How do your parents feel about what you write?
My dad encourages me. My mother thinks I should write a Western, though she buys my books lol. Other family members are skeptical. I have a few relatives who laugh about me being a writer as if it’s the most hilarious thing on the planet and have been accused of writing porn (romance does not equal porn, folks). However, even if I did write porn, I bet I’d write good porn 😀 For the most part, though, my family is supportive. They’re more supportive now than they were when I was first starting out, though! Slowly gaining a fan base apparently equals acceptance from relatives. Not quite sure how I feel about that…lol.
9- What are you reading?
Anything I can get my hands on, though I’ll probably reread some Edgar Alan Poe this week for research purposes.
10- Who did that thing in The Demon King (the thing I can’t publicly mention without giving a big spoiler)?
Demon King readers will know what that thing is because, in the book, I never wrote who did it! Ha! I will not tell you because I may write a sequel soon. MAYBE. I will tell you that you won’t expect it, but several people will die from the king’s wrath because of it.
Knight Watch Press, publisher of THE DEMON KING, has officially closed its doors, which is big news for me because this means THE DEMON KING is homeless once again and will be needing a publisher.
Rhiannon Writes On 