Demon Lord IX: The Forgotten Lands Launch Coming Soon!

Good news! It’s almost here! Only eleven days to go before Demon Lord IX: The Forgotten Lands is released. It’s already available as a pre-order at the iBookstore, Barnes & Noble and Kobo, and will be available at Amazon on the release date: 30 June. So place your pre-order today and ensure you receive your copy right away! The book is now on the final leg of the creation process: editing and proofreading. To all of you who have been waiting almost two years for the next instalment of the Demon Lord series, deepest apologies.

My creative process was stymied by my first visit to hospital, where I underwent major surgery to cut out a five-kilogram ovarian tumour. It wasn’t just the trauma of the op or the recovery time that delayed the next book for so long; it was also the illness beforehand and the diagnosis that rendered me totally incapable of writing. That’s a lot of stress! The good news is, that’s all in the past. The tumour was mostly benign, I’m cancer-free and my channel to the fantasy worlds where my heroes and heroines live is unblocked.

The Forgotten Lands may be the penultimate book in the Demon Lord series. I can’t be sure until I write the next one, but it seems to be a distinct possibility. So for everyone who feels my series are never-ending, good news! They do eventually end. I’m hoping for a happy ending, but it’s out of my hands. I go where the story takes me, and I have no idea what will happen next. It’s as much of an adventure for me as it is for you. I’ll be publishing some extracts here on my blog over the next few days, so watch this space!

10 Things to Avoid in Your Writing

1. Avoid using flowery language to make yourself look clever.

This can be confusing for readers and is unlikely to have the desired effect. Instead, write the way you’d speak to someone in real life – not using informal English, but natural and flowing.

2. Avoid using generic descriptions.

Readers need to be able to visualise what they’re reading. Using nouns like ‘home’ or ‘tree’ don’t give the same visuals as words like ‘flat’, ‘double storey’, ‘log cabin’ or ‘great oak’.

3. Avoid using character names too often in dialogue.

When speaking to each other, most people don’t use the other person’s name that often. Most of the time, people only use another person’s name in real life to greet the person, to get that person’s attention, as an exclamation of shock or surprise, and perhaps every now and then. It’s unrealistic and annoying to read a conversation between two characters in which they address each other by name in almost every dialogue section.

4. Avoid using redundant descriptions.

For example, if the music is blaring, it’s a given that it’s loud, so if you write ‘it blared loudly’, the word ‘loudly’ is redundant.

5. Avoid swapping point of view (POV) in the same scene.

While many find it acceptable to write in God Mode these days, I don’t like this POV, as it can confuse readers too easily. Rather, choose a character from whose POV to write from in each scene, and stick to that character’s thoughts and observations for the duration of the scene.

6. Avoid info dumps in narrative.

Obviously, you need to share a certain amount of information with your readers. However, in cases where the information is long-winded and detailed, try to split this up across a few scenes, or add it in dialogue rather than narrative. In narrative, it can feel like an info dump that might bore readers (after all, they want the story more than the information). When you add the information to dialogue – say, one character explaining how something works to another character – you can add character interactions and give readers an indication of those characters’ personalities and relationships with each other at the same time, thereby making the information-giving more entertaining.

7. Avoid using clichés.

Avoid it like the plague. Seriously. Clichés are boring and unoriginal. Rather, use more interesting comparisons that you thought up yourself. This will entertain your readers a heck of a lot more than a well-known cliché, and they’ll be more likely to remember you for it if the comparison is good[V1] .

8. Avoid plagiarism in any form.

This might sound obvious, but many writers don’t realise that using song lyrics and quoting other authors’ work in their writing is considered plagiarism just as much as putting your name on another author’s manuscript. It’s okay to refer to songs by title, but, if you really want to include lyrics, rather make up your own. If you desperately want to use existing lyrics (I don’t recommend it), get written permission from the copyright-holder.

9. Avoid passive voice.

There are times when passive voice works better than active voice, but, most of the time, it just slows down the story’s pace and can often lend confusion. For example, rather than write ‘the food of the cat’, write ‘the cat’s food’.

10. Avoid using the same sentence structure too closely together.

While there are only so many ways to structure a sentence, avoid using the same structure too often too closely together. It makes the writing feel repetitive and boring, and takes the reader’s attention from the story. An example of this is: Slowly, he opened the door a crack. Cautiously, he peeked through the crack and looked down the path. Amazingly, no one was there.

5 Quotes for all Writers to Live By

1. “You fail only if you stop writing.” ~ Ray Bradbury

2. “Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” ~ William Wordsworth

3. “Our words must seem to be inevitable.” ~ William Butler Yeats

4. “The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say.” ~ Anaïs Nin

5. “Substitute ‘damn’ every time you're inclined to write ‘very’; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.” ~ Mark Twain

Guest Post Request

As many of you know, I’m currently in the process of writing Demon Lord, Book 8. I’m pleased to report that the book is going well and almost complete, but then I still have to edit it until I’m 100% happy with it, so it could be a while still, particularly if I spend too much time blogging. Therefore, I’ve decided to request guest posts so I can keep my blog busy and still focus on writing as much as possible.

If you have anything interesting to say about science fiction or fantasy in general, I’d love to share it on my blog. Reviews, interviews, or guest posts on writing, publishing and marketing are also welcome, or any other relevant topic you can think of.

Please send all post submissions to my publicist at vanessa@wildorchidbooks.com and she’ll run them by me. Please note that all posts might be edited for typos and other errors. If you haven’t already written the post, it’s best to check with Vanessa first to make sure your desired topic is suitable for my blog, as not all submissions will be accepted. Please also keep in mind that my blog is for all ages, so nothing naughty and no swearing in the guest posts, please.

Thank you, and I look forward to hosting your post!

End of the Virtual Book Tour

I’m happy to report that this has been a most successful tour, and I’d like to thank all the bloggers who took part and were such great hosts, as well as all those who left cool comments on the blog posts. I hope everyone enjoyed reading the articles, extracts and interviews, and all who took advantage of the special offers and freebies enjoy the books.

 

Please remember to email Vanessa@wildorchidbooks.com your proof of payments for the ‘most books purchased during the tour’ giveaway, to receive your free copies of The Crystal Ship and The Shrike. The cut-off date for proof of payment emails is one week from today, so please send your emails before the 23^rd of August.

Virtual Book Tour – Day 13: Guest Post on Tips for New Writers

 

Today’s tour host is book blogger The Independent Bookworm, which will be sharing a guest post from me with tips for new writers.

First and foremost, follow your inspiration, and secondly, don’t give up. Find your genre, which should be the one you most enjoy reading, and be inspired to write original stories that utterly captivate you. If you find them engrossing, so will your readers, and your passion for your story will translate into your writing. Write for your personal pleasure, and never for what other people might find interesting.

To read the rest of this post, please visit The Independent Bookworm’s blog.

To celebrate the last two days of my blog tour, I’m offering readers a 15% discount on Demon Lord II, Dark God for today and tomorrow, 13 and 14 August.

Promotional price: $2.54
Coupon Code: JX99Z

If you’ve been purchasing my books throughout the tour, remember that the person who purchases the most of my books for the duration of the tour receives the gift of Books 2 and 3 in The Slave Empire series (to see if you qualify, you should, on the first day after the tour, email all your PoPs to vanessa@wildorchidbooks.com).

To make sure you don’t miss a tour post, download the TC Southwell Virtual Book Tour Itinerary.

Virtual Book Tour – Day 12: Guest Post on Literary Characters I Would Date, Dump or Marry

Today’s tour host is indie supporter, author and reader Nicole Hill, who has kindly hosted two tour dates for my virtual book tour. Thank you, Nicole, much appreciated! Nicole will be sharing a guest post from me today on literary characters I would date, dump or marry.

It’s not a very long list! The hero of my favourite fantasy series by another author, Stephen R. Donaldson’s The Thomas Covenant, Unbeliever series, is definitely someone I would dump, if I ever even considered dating him. Aside from his leprosy, he’s not my type of guy at all, even though his world and the story he was in fascinated me.

To read more of this post, please visit Nicole’s blog, and do share some literary characters you would date, dump or marry!

Today is also the last day you can take advantage of the 40% discount on The Queen’s Blade II, Sacrifice.

Promotional price: $2.39
Coupon Code: DX53X

To make sure you don’t miss a tour post, download the TC Southwell Virtual Book Tour Itinerary.

Virtual Book Tour – Day 11: Guest Post & Author Interview

 

Today’s tour host is the Indie Author Network, which will be sharing a guest post from me on how to deal with book pirates, along with an author interview, which I hope you’ll all enjoy.

There’s no foolproof way to deal with book pirates, but take heart – they can often be dealt with in a few easy steps.

The first step is obvious: find out if your books are being pirated and where. Setting up Google Alerts for your book titles can be helpful, but you should know that this won’t pick up all instances of your work being pirated, so it’s important to Google your titles manually too.

To read the rest of this post, please visit the Indie Author Network blog and, if you have any other advice on how to deal with book pirates, please share it via the blog’s comments.

Today is also the last day you can take advantage of the 15% discount on The Cyber Chronicles II, Death Zone.

Promotional price: $3.39
Coupon Code: UL86M

The 40% discount on The Queen’s Blade II, Sacrifice is still available until tomorrow, 12 August.

Promotional price: $2.39
Coupon Code: DX53X

To make sure you don’t miss a tour post, download the TC Southwell Virtual Book Tour Itinerary.

Virtual Book Tour – Day 10: Guest Post, Inside the Mind of Author TC Southwell

 

Today’s tour host is fellow fantasy author Tracy Falbe. Tracy will be sharing a guest post from me titled Inside the Mind of an Author.

If it’s a fantasy author’s mind, it’s a weird place! Magical realms abound, chockfull of fearsome creatures and wonderfully strange heroes and heroines. I can’t speak for all authors, but my fantasy worlds are always alive and well in the back of my mind, just waiting for me to spend time in them. My characters’ lives continue there, but in the everyday way that everyone’s does, although theirs are obviously a little bit different. I’ll occasionally encounter Blade out for a stroll with Chiana, or sneaking her into an alehouse to watch a troubadour and entertain her with his insights into the patrons.

To read the rest of this place, please visit Tracy’s blog, and share the inner workings of your mind in the comments section while you’re at it.

If you’ve just joined us, take advantage of the 15% discount on The Cyber Chronicles II, Death Zone until tomorrow, 11 August.

Promotional price: $3.39
Coupon Code: UL86M

Don’t forget that the person who purchases the most of my books for the duration of the tour receives the gift of Books 2 and 3 in The Slave Empire series (to see if you qualify, you should, on the first day after the tour, email all your PoPs to vanessa@wildorchidbooks.com).

I’m also offering a 40% discount on The Queen’s Blade II, Sacrifice for 3 days, starting today, 10 – 12 August.

Promotional price: $2.39
Coupon Code: DX53X

To make sure you don’t miss a tour post, download the TC Southwell Virtual Book Tour Itinerary.

Virtual Book Tour – Day 8: Guest Post on Writing Good Fight Scenes

 

Today’s tour host is publishing services company Fireblade Publishers, which will be hosting a guest post from me on how to write good fight scenes.

A fight scene should be gripping, believable and fast-paced. I always write a fight scene at the speed at which it happens, so it’s ‘real time’, and the reader can, therefore, imagine it at the correct speed. You can’t add much in the way of thoughts or feelings during a fight scene, as this will slow the pace of the action and the characters will ‘pause’ in the reader’s mind while the protagonist has his/her thoughts or feelings. Aside from that, someone in the middle of a fight won’t have time to think about stuff.

To read the rest of this post, visit the Fireblade blog, and don’t forget to leave a comment if you have anything to add.

For those who have just joined us, The Queen’s Blade II, Sacrifice is now free on a 3-day promotion, 6 – 8 August. Today’s the last day, so grab your copy before it’s too late (Book 1 is free) – Coupon Code: EN88H.

Don’t forget that the person who purchases the most of my books for the duration of the tour receives the gift of Books 2 and 3 in The Slave Empire series (to see if you qualify, you should, on the first day after the tour, email all your PoPs to vanessa@wildorchidbooks.com).

To make sure you don’t miss a tour post, download the TC Southwell Virtual Book Tour Itinerary.

Virtual Book Tour – Day 7: Guest Post on Creating Original Fantasy Creatures

 

Today’s tour host is fellow fantasy author Michelle Louring, who will be hosting a guest post by me on creating original fantasy creatures.

Originality is something every author should strive for. Using the hackneyed, stereotypical creatures that have been around for centuries – unicorns, vampires, fairies, elves, dragons and ogres, etc. – detracts from a good fantasy tale, in my opinion. Sure, it’s easier to write about something everyone knows, so you don’t have to describe it in detail, but for readers, discovering new and exciting fantasy creatures enhances a story. While the tried and trusted has a fan following all of its own, it’s so much better to make the effort to be original, not only in your storyline, but also the creatures that populate your world.

Visit Michelle’s blog to read the rest of this post, and don’t forget to leave a comment if you have anything to add on the topic.

Don’t forget The Queen’s Blade II, Sacrifice is now free on a 3-day promotion, ending tomorrow.

Coupon Code: EN88H

To make sure you don’t miss a tour post, download the TC Southwell Virtual Book Tour Itinerary.

New Book in the Demon Lord Series

I’ve had such a busy time of it lately, with my virtual blog tour coming up in August, and writing articles and interviews for that, which is exciting and fun. Such great ideas for subject matter! I’m sure everyone will enjoy them. I hope everyone visits the blogs that are taking part to read the articles and interviews. I will update you all via this blog, Face Book and Twitter on all the necessary info for the blog tour closer to the time.

I was trying to work my way through editing all the books yet again – yes, I’m a die-hard perfectionist who’s never satisfied! I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve edited the books, but it’s a lot. Yet I still find things I can improve, and the occasional typo. Now, however, new and exciting circumstances have made me put that on hold for the time being in order to finish Demon Lord VIII.

I’ve tried to write this book before, but I had too many distractions. Now, my mind is starting to recover its ability to wander in these weird and wonderful worlds I write about. So far, it’s going well this time, and I’ve had several glimpses of future scenes, so of course I want to write them. I might even continue with book IX, and more. It all depends on how long the channel lasts, but I hope it keeps going for some time. I love writing about new adventures! I know a great many people are waiting for the next books in this series. I get emails every day, and all I can say is: it’s coming soon! I don’t have any idea what it will be titled yet. I’ll only find that out once I finish it and know what happens.

More About How And Why I Write

As it turned out, being rejected by traditional publishers was a good thing, and the boom in self-publishing came along at just the right time, or the books would probably never have been published. Perhaps the worst part of the traditional publishers’ rejections was that they didn’t give reasons for them, except one, which said the familiar idea was too similar to another book they were publishing, although those familiars were all insects. Self-publishing has allowed me complete artistic control and enabled me to offer the books at low prices, so I’m happy about that. I’d have had huge problems with editors telling me to change stuff.

I think one of the reasons The Queen’s Blade is hard to predict is because it has no plot. It’s just a series of events based on the characters’ decisions and the consequences thereof, and I don’t always like what they get up to. They told the story, though. I’m just the ‘scribe’. The ideas Blade came up with and the lies he told had me gobsmacked. He’s a lot cleverer than me, and definitely much more devious.

I enjoy all aspects of writing. It’s my favourite thing to do. When I’m in the ‘zone’, it’s like I’m in that world, with the characters, watching and listening to them, and, depending on whose point of view I’m channelling, sharing their thoughts, too. Some writers say it’s best only to write from the main characters’ points of view, but I have no choice in the matter. It allows me to escape the harsh reality of my humdrum existence. I much prefer imaginary worlds, which is probably why I spend so much time there!

When I’m channelling, the only thing that slows me down is my typing speed, and sometimes I go back and embellish descriptions later, if the story’s moving particularly fast when I channel, but most of the time I manage to describe things pretty well the first time around. I find I can ‘pause’ the story if I need to describe the surroundings, but sometimes I want to get on with it and find out what happens next.

The really weird thing is I can’t change anything! When I edit, I sometimes think of a better way to describe a certain scene, without actually changing what happened, but then I always change it back again. It just isn’t right any other way. I can enhance background info, but not actions or conversations. Also, sometimes I’m asked why something happened the way it did, and I have to figure it out, because I honestly had no idea when I wrote it. I also get information that I have no knowledge of, things I’ve never done or learnt about, yet when I research it afterwards, I find that what I’ve written is correct. It’s kind of creepy.

Why I Write, And My Method

So many people have asked me why I write, and what my process is. The first is simple: I write because I enjoy it so much, and so that I can read the books again. They gathered dust on hard drives and floppy disks and then stiffy disk backups for over 20 years, and some were lost due to corrupt backups, a stolen PC and a crashed laptop. I had no plans to even try to have them published in the beginning, but, after writing so many, I decided to give it a bash. No one else had read them, at that stage. Self-publishing was easy. Marketing was the hard part, but I didn’t expect much, so I made the first books free and left the rest up to fate.

My writing process is also very simple: I just watch the film in my mind. I totally lose all track of time when I’m writing. I’m in that world, not this one. I only stop when my coffee mug runs dry and for potty breaks; things that drag me back to reality because they have to be urgently remedied, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to drink from an empty mug. My longest stint was fourteen hours, from about ten pm to midday the following day, during which time I wrote over twelve thousand words – which I only discovered when I stopped.

I wrote the prequels to The Queen’s Blade a few years after I finished the series, at the suggestion of a fellow writer. Writing them was quite strange for me, because I already knew some of what had happened from Blade’s memories, which is not normal for me. I don’t feel like the books are the result of my skills and ideas. It’s like I’m a chronicler, and the stories come from somewhere else. When I’m writing, it’s as if the story downloads into my mind while I’m doing everyday things, and then I purge it into the computer. Sometimes I’ll get a lot, and sometimes not so much, and I just have to read a few pages of what I wrote the previous day to get hooked back into the channel again, and then it just flows. The story kind of grinds to a halt after a few hours, either because I’ve purged the download for the day or because I’m too tired, then I go to bed.

The next day, the process happens again. The story in my mind stays on hold until I write it, so I won’t get more until I’ve written that part, nor will it disappear. I can’t even access it until I write it. I just know it’s there. So a typical day when I’m writing is pretty ordinary until I ‘zone out’, which I prefer to do at night, when it’s quiet, which makes me nocturnal.

Some Questions Answered

I received some interesting questions via email this week, one of which was about the time period that The Queen’s Blade is set in, and what countries the kingdoms there resemble. The time period doesn't really conform to any Earth norms, but it's similar to a feudal era, with a slightly more modern language amongst the commoners. Jashimari is similar to feudal France or Britain, with a bit of an exotic Eastern influence. Cotti resembles Arabia at that time period, I would say, except for the people, who are more like tanned Teutons, and Contara is a mixture of the two. I hadn't really considered what Earth-type cultural or historical similarities they might have, but those are the best parallels I can draw.

Another reader asked about my inspiration… That's a tough question! There isn't any one thing that inspires me. Mostly, I think it's my characters, whom I love to write about and share in their adventures, and sometimes it's what's happening in the world around me. Often, it's a way to escape my own dull life and explore strange worlds, too. I've always been a dreamer, and channelling adventures in other worlds is even better than going on holiday.

I also had a question about producing a signed edition of The Queen’s Blade. I would love to offer a signed edition, only the postage, if they're sent to me and then I post them to the readers, is exorbitant from South Africa, where the post office charges according to weight. I could print the books with a signature in them, but it wouldn't be a genuine signed copy, as the signature would be printed. I'm not sure if that would be as good.

About the author

I was born in Sri Lanka, a long time ago, when it was still Ceylon. My parents moved to the Seychelles when I was a baby, and I lived on Cerf Island and spent my formative years exploring the islands – mostly alone. Naturally, my imagination flourished and I developed a keen love of other worlds - mostly to escape the one I was in. Living on a tropical island isn't all it's cracked up to be, trust me. My family travelled through Europe and Africa and, after the death of my father, settled in South Africa.

I have written over twenty novels and five screenplays. My hobbies include motorcycling, horse riding and art, andI try to earn a living in the IT industry, as well as doing copywriting, editing and proofreading, amongst other things. Basically anything that will bring in a bit of cash and uses some of my dubious skills.

I started writing fantasy stories in school, where I was often guilty of daydreaming in class, and chastised for not paying attention. I wrote my first full length book when I was twenty-six, a science fiction novel. After a number of publishers resoundingly rejected it, I gave up for a while. I went back to being an avid reader, devouring libraries of books in my hunger for other worlds and fantastic adventures. After reading a truly atrocious fantasy book, I decided to have another bash at the writing lark, thinking that if that guy could get published, why not me? I wasn't that bad.

During a fantastic six-year period when I was unemployed and lived with my mom, I wrote over twenty books, indulging my passion with the aid of a borrowed PC and loads of free time. I enjoyed writing them almost as much as I enjoyed reading them afterwards, since the stories came to me effortlessly, as if I was plugged into some sort of cosmic video feed that played all these marvelous stories in my head.

I still didn't have the courage to send anything to the publishers though, afraid of more rejections. I don't handle rejection all that well, although it's par for the course in the book-writing world. Every author is rejected many many times. I wrote them for the pure enjoyment of it, and the pleasure of reading them again. I became my own most ardent - and only - fan. Still, that didn't dampen my enthusiasm. Then in about 2002, I moved to Cape Town and, miraculously, a local publisher accepted Demon Lord, the first in a five - probably more, but five so far - book series. The sales were dismal, however, due to the bias in the local press that decided - without bothering to read it - that if it was local it had to be rubbish. They also, apparently, thought it must be a 'devil's handbook', because of the title. Nothing could be further from the truth, but anyway, they're entitled to their opinion, even if it has no basis in reality and if they'd bothered to read the book they'd have seen that it's just the opposite. Enought about that.

I have now sent off the first book of another series of five - six if you count the prequel - to a few UK publishers, and await their verdict. Two rejections so far, but I'm hanging in there. The series is called The Queen's Blade, and I shall post more details about it here when I have a bit of time. I also have two other series awaiting the day when they will visit the publishers, which are Cyber Warrior and The Broken World. My original science fiction series, which I have now rewritten and made fairly good - it was rubbish when I sent it to the publishers, so they weren't wrong to reject it - still languishes on my PC's hard drive, and I don't think that one will ever be published, simply because I don't want to publish it. So there you have it. That's me.

To read more about the only book of mine that's been published, visit the blogspot. I plan to have a website one day, but finances are grim right now. If anyone's interested, I'm looking for a patron of the arts to sponsor me. That would be nice. Who knows? Miracles do happen.