Guest author - Adele Royce

Today I'm delighted to chat with author Adele Royce whose published novels include Camera Ready, Princess Smile, For Position Only (which was a BookLife by Publishers Weekly Editor’s Pick), and Summer’s Blood (which received the coveted Kirkus starred review). I'm already in awe!

She's an advertising and PR executive, who has spent most of her career on the Las Vegas Strip, an experience that gave colour to her latest novel, Slipper Girl. I'll bet it did!

She is currently working on the sequel to Slipper Girl as well as Deadly Sins, a collection of short stories. In addition, she owns a marketing consulting firm in San Diego, California, where she resides with her husband and two cats. So let's meet her.

Can I just say, Adele, that's an impressive body of work! Can you tell me a bit more about your books?

I have five novels as part of one essential universe that I call my World of Adele Royce. The way my first book (technically Princess Smile, but I published it third) played out determined the next book and so on. I always end my books with a setup for the next. I come up with the idea of just imagining the story moving forward and ask myself “What if?” 

I love this idea! In fact I've just done it in my own book, but please carry on.

I also look at the characters and determine which characters might have an interesting story in the next book. That's how I came up with the story for Slipper Girl. I looked into the story of my first novel in my Neon Diaries series, Summer's Blood, and dug into the story to find the most interesting character that could be developed in the next book for Slipper Girl, and the indisputable star was Skylar van Ness. 

I never look at trends to determine what I'm going to write; I only write stories that are fascinating to me and stories I know will be fascinating to my readers.

I know what you mean. I've read books and sensed the author was enjoying writing the story as much as I was reading it, because their enthusiasm translated into the prose. That's a great tip, thank you! 

One part of the writing process that fascinates me with whether authors plot their stories in great detail, or just fly by the seat of their pants. Which camp do you sit in?

I'm definitely a pantser at heart but when I moved from romantic dramedies to mystery thriller I had to start outlining. Mysteries are much too detailed to leave it up to me, as a pantser, to come up with a story and plot that will tie everything together at the end. 

That said, I love to come up with ideas that veer outside of my outline. That's why sometimes in the middle of the book, or towards the end, I'll have a better idea. And, for me it's always about having a better idea and making sure the book is as great as it can possibly be, and as entertaining and exciting as I can make it.

I'm loving this! Okay, what about your process when you're deciding on your novel's POV?

In terms of point of view, it kind of depends on the characters. I wrote my first four books in first person narrative and I feel that those books were really character-driven even though the 4th book was mystery/thriller. 

I liked being in one character's mind, but when I wrote Slipper Girl I just started to move away from first person narrative, so I wrote in third person limited point of view. I have two characters point of views represented in the book, but I felt that it gave me a little more freedom with the story. 

When you write in first person narrative the narrator always has to be in the scene so it sometimes creates a dilemma when developing plot, and that need for convenience may or may not be realistic.

I agree. I was after an intimate feel with my book and we're in my main character's head the entire time, which makes for fun but it also gave me some headaches, like knowing what story was going on beyond her world, but it was fun trying to sort it out!

Knowing you're a pantser, how about the prep work you do for your characters? Do you have detailed bios before you start writing, or create them as you move through the story?

First of all, this is my favourite part of the writing process. I love to develop, to sketch, and to dig into the psyches of my characters. I always write a bio for each, and dig into them as individuals: where they grew up; how their parents were; what kind of a childhood they had; what kind of things happened to them that shaped the way they are; the things they say; and how they make decisions. I totally view them as real people. 

Me too! It's bizarre, isn't it?

It probably makes me sound a little crazy, but they are real to me and if I make them real, my readers will feel the same way. 

I agree, 100%, so I guess we're both a little nuts!

Character names are fun too. I try to find names that either truly fit the individual or perhaps they are names I just love. I try to make sure that the name fits the character; however, I don't use a whole lot of allegory. I have used allegory for names in my short stories but, in the novels, I just try to find those that fit. 

I do look at the nationality and where they grew up, in what era they were born, and I find names that I like. Sometimes, I give a character a name that I always wished I had.

This all feels very logical to me, and I like that because I can borrow your ideas! And what about writing style?

I would call mine direct clear and concise. I don't heavy-up my writing with descriptive language, although I do describe just enough so that my reader can see and truly visualize what's happening in every scene. 

I try not to go over the deep end with the descriptive detail because I want the reader visualise in their own mind, so I give them just enough detail where they know exactly what's going on through dialogue. 

I have a character who swears a lot. His name is DJ Keller, and his voice is unique. I make the dialogue distinct among my characters so that when you remove the dialogue tag, the reader still knows who is speaking.

I remember one of my writing teachers telling me that many years ago, and it's quite tough to do well, so I applaud you. Moving on to the publishing side of things, what route did you decide to take?

For my first three books, I used a hybrid publisher in Los Angeles, and he handles all my sales and takes a percentage of my royalties. 

For Summer's Blood I decided to self-publish, and I worked with a marketing and publishing partner who handled all of the details, including internal layout of the book, cover, etc. 

We have a collaborative relationship on the marketing and how to promote the book. I do feel that self-publishing gives me a little more autonomy. 

Again, I find myself agreeing with you! I didn't want a cover I hated, or changes made that I didn't like, so I knew I had to self-publish. It's far more work, but there is something lovely about knowing it's exactly as you envisioned.

And talking about professionals, I'm guessing your expertise in marketing makes you a good self-editor, but do you use a professional editor too?

I'm a pretty good editor but, of course, I'm human, and I miss things that a professional editor picks up. My editing process is ongoing and my final step in the process is to hire a professional editor—one that I trust will be a good fit—one who knows the book, knows the characters, and will not change my voice or my character's choices. The editor’s job, to me, is to make the manuscript tighter, cleaner, and more professional.

Okay, that sounds sensible but, just out of interest, do you give your work to anyone else to read before it's published?

I have critique partners first. Secondly, I have beta readers, and lastly I ask my writing community partners if they'd like to receive an advance review copy (ARC). 

I highly recommend beta readers. If I see a pattern, with several of my beta readers pointing out the same thing, then it's time for me to re-evaluate whether I really want that to happen in the story. If it's something I feel strongly about, I'll go ahead and keep it as is, but beta readers are precious to me and I highly recommend them.

It sounds like you've got a good team together. I think I need to do that! How about bad writing habits - do you have any?

Common writing mistakes for me are lapsing into a “tell don't show” scenario. Those are usually in the first draft and as I move to 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th drafts, I start to find those mistakes and fix them. Sometimes I have a beta reader or a critique partner point those out or my editor.

Going back to paid professionals, are there any others you use?

Certainly. I try to keep the covers within the family of the series so, for example, my first three books were romantic dramedy, and they have a similar look and feel—photographs as opposed to illustrations. 

For the Neon Diaries series, I went with more of a graphic illustration and I wanted both Summer's Blood and Slipper Girl to be informed by the same brand. 

Because I'm a marketing and advertising executive by trade, I usually have a strong vision of what I want to see on the cover, and then work with my partners and artists to execute that strategy.

Talking of your background, I've spoken to many authors who seem to hate marketing, so do you have any tips?

Because I am a marketer, marketing, social media, ad campaigns, and all of that stuff comes naturally to me. I will say that I needed to study up and learn through trial and error in marketing my books though. 

With the first one, I really didn't know what I was doing. I was looking at the book as though it was a product or service, which is what I do in my career; however, book marketing is its own thing, and I had to learn the publishing industry. 

I did all of that by studying, talking to people, doing webinars, reading, researching, and then realising what worked and what didn't. I have found that over time I've gotten much better at it. 

The other thing is that every writer needs to stay ahead of marketing trends because they change constantly. Staying on top of social media trends, understanding the different offerings, seeing what is being put out there and what people are engaging with. It's really a work in progress that never ends, because technology, as we all know, just keeps changing.

It sure does. It makes me wonder how we ever find the time to write! 

And what about your publishing mechanics, such as software, etc?

For the technical part of the writing process, I use Microsoft Word. I don't use any fancy novel writing software. I find that they are distracting. I keep dated revisions, so I have version control. 

I purchase many ISBN numbers so I have enough for the series to go on and on, and I copyright my manuscript with the US copyright office. I always take that step because I feel as though my writing and my ideas are protected.

I do have a website that's interactive too, at www.adeleroyce.com. I have some fun features on the website that include a 'Meet the Characters' section. Each of my characters has a bio and photo, and they're very fun to go and interact with. 

Actually, I really enjoyed playing with them - it's a great idea!

I really believe in engaging with my audience so if you go to my website and sign up for my newsletter, you will receive my updates. I review other authors’ books there, so it's really a way for me to engage with my readers. I always do a fun prize giveaway. 

I'm on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. I'd say I'm probably most active on Instagram and X. I feel like engaging with the writing community is great but we also need to engage with our readers so some of the content is more focused on writing, and a lot of is there for my readers to discover more about my books and other author’s books.

Thank you so much, Adele, this has been fabulous! And I'd love it if we could end by learning a bit more about your latest novel, Slipper Girl please?

She Buried Her Past. It’s Back to Destroy Her.

Skylar Van Ness has always been a fighter. From her tumultuous childhood in Amsterdam to her rise as the Vice President of Marketing at Donovan Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, she’s faced every challenge head-on.

But when Skylar’s estranged mother, Brit, reappears with a sinister agenda, Skylar’s world is turned upside down. As secrets from her past threaten to unravel her carefully constructed life, Skylar must navigate a treacherous path of deception, blackmail, betrayal and heart-wrenching revelations. With the stakes higher than ever, she must rely on instinct alone — because trust is a luxury she can’t afford.

The eagerly anticipated follow-up to Adele Royce’s nail-biting Summer’s Blood, Slipper Girl is a gripping tale of one woman’s resilience and redemption, and the unbreakable bonds of family. 

That sounds amazing! If you'd like to learn about Adele, I'd recommend visiting her website, where you can also find all of her social media links too.

And don't forget, if you've enjoyed reading this post, then press here  to get all the latest updates emailed directly to you via follow.it (You can unsubscribe at any time). I feature at least one interview with a guest author or publishing professional each month and they're all brilliant!

What the F... (Really means)

 

I'm thrilled to let you know that I've just featured on Stewart Bint's blog and it was lovely chatting more about my writing journey and my book, My F in Life. 

Please take a look here (link) and you might remember that he featured here less than a month ago (link here). 

It's so lovely how authors support other authors, and talking of which, Stewart has lots of fabulous author interviews on his blog too. Do take a look as they make for brilliant reading.

And my next author interview goes live on Sunday, and it's another fab one! Woohoo!

My F in Life - update from an excited author!

It's only been a few weeks since I published my book but what a wild ride it's been! I have to admit, the whole process of uploading the manuscript and cover was an eye-opener. Thank goodness for my pal, Liz, an author who's been through this process herself and she was the voice of reason when, shock, horror, we got an error message! 

Luckily Sofie, my cover artist, was straight on the job and amended the file so that it was exactly what was needed. Huge sigh of relief, job done, all accepted! Celebratory drink and whoop, whoop, I was a published author!

Now it's available in Paperback or electronically on Kindle (and is currently free on Kindle Unlimited) and the wonderful thing is that people are buying it! Yes, I know that sounds daft - why else would I publish? I guess I was hoping like-minded people, going through middle age and getting knocked by some of life's challenges, could do with a giggle, but I hadn't actually thought about people reading it! 

So, you can imagine my surprise when a couple of mornings ago, my book was number 3 in the 'Amazon Hot New Releases' section. I had to take the screenshot above because, number 3? Wowsers! And I don't think I've ever been classed as 'hot' in my life 🤣 I'm taking that!

The next thing that happened was reviews started to appear. Within a few days the first review appeared - 5 stars! OMG! Then a second appeared. Also 5 stars! And now a third is there - my mind is blown! You can read them all here but I've popped some snippets below.

And talking of reviews, I'm going to start beating my drum now, as so many of us read a book, love it, and then move on to the next exciting novel, not thinking about the poor old (or perhaps young!) writer. But imagine what it's like for them. Your favourite author could be sitting in the dark, palms sweaty, not knowing whether their audience likes their book or not. But guess what? You have power to help. 

Think of reviewing a book as your way of talking to the author and (probably more importantly) their audience. If you love a book, write a review. Long or short, let people know what you think! Sing their praises. Or if something didn't work for you, don't be mean, but give some constructive feedback. 

I've written a whole article about this. The post is a short read, so please take a look here and have a go. Every author I know will thank you for taking the time. So go, and be wonderful!

And I'd like to take the time to thank the three wonderful people who did exactly that for my book. I didn't expect it, but every review helps to raise my profile. They took the time to review my book and I'm eternally grateful.

So that's all for me for today. I'm back to interviewing authors next, so look out for my next chat in a couple of weeks time - it's another good one! 

And don't forget, if you've enjoyed reading this post, then press here  to get all the latest updates emailed directly to you via follow.it (You can unsubscribe at any time). I feature at least one interview with a guest author or publishing professional each month and they're all brilliant!

I've just published a novel 🥳🎉

I know this blog is all about promoting authors, but I just had to let you know that my novel, 'My F in Life' has just been published! This is my debut (whoop, whoop!) and it's a comedy about friendship, family and fresh starts, which is set in the Scottish Highlands. 

It's uplifting and fast-paced (because that's what I like!) and tackles the challenges of middle-age (because I've found there are quite a few 🤣)

I hope it will have you laughing, crying, and wondering how many Fs rule your life too. 

So what's it about? Please see more below!

Jaye never expected everything to fall apart when she turned fifty, but Fs are back in charge and ruining her life again.

Fitness… 

Her spare tyre’s self-inflating but she’s allergic to exercise, unless it’s wine bottle unscrewing where she’s fast becoming an Olympic athlete.

Frustration… 

Why has her soulmate of 30 years shacked-up with his young, blonde, skinny (except for his baby-bump) mistress? 

Family… 

One child has flown, the other two are flapping their wings, and Jaye’s left hugging the half-empty biscuit tin and her precious stash of chocolate.

Friends… 

Bestie Didi is fun with a capital F, but she’s pushing Jaye into online dating, reinvention, and ridiculous risk taking. 

As Jaye fights to hold everything together, she’s forced into deciding whether to return to her safe but imperfect life, or explore a new frightening (or is that exciting?) alternative. 

This hilarious, sharply observed novel is perfect for fans of fans of Jill Mansell, Fiona Gibson and Milly Johnson. So why not buy a copy!  

It's available in Paperback or electronically on Kindle (and is currently free on Kindle Unlimited)

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT ‘MY F IN LIFE’

‘A laugh-out-loud comedy with a huge heart.' 

Liz Treacher, best-selling author of The Wrong Envelope

‘The story is engaging, relatable and full of lovely humour. It was a joy to read and I can’t wait to see what comes next!’

‘From the outset there are perceptive and wrenching observations… an immensely likable character… many women of her age will associate with her.’

‘Some of the best realistic dialogue I’ve ever read. More please!’

‘I so enjoyed reading this. It is hugely relatable and funny.’

‘Everyday problems are dealt with so humorously that you want to read on to find out what hilarious situations our heroine will find herself in next.’ 

‘I really enjoyed reading this, from the down-to-earth, loveable protagonist to her narcissistic husband, and the most fun-loving friend we should all have in our lives.’

‘I can’t wait for the next book!

And if you enjoyed this post, then press here to get all the latest updates emailed directly to you via follow.it (You can unsubscribe at any time). Thank you!

GUEST AUTHOR - STEWART BINT

This week's interview is with the lovely Stewart Bint who, like my last interviewee (Joanne Paulson), trained as a journalist. He worked as a radio newsreader, and a Public Relations writer, before quitting the day job to become a full-time novelist in 2021. He's largely retired now, although there is one special project in the pipeline, but we'll chat more about that later!

Stewart's had six books published – five novels and a short story collection - and finds it easier to write paranormal and sci-fi stories, so he sticks to those, although he admits, he did surprise himself with a crime and medical backdrop to his latest novel, When God’s Wind Blows! But some genres are more of a struggle to write, such as romance, although he's experimented with a little romance, along with humour, fantasy, and even a couple of children’s tales in his short story collection, Thunderlands. So let's meet him.

Thanks so much for joining me and let's start by chatting about your publishing journey. Are you traditionally published or did you self-publish?

Originally, I self-published through Smashwords and Kindle Direct Publishing, but as ebooks only. My first efforts were a couple of novellas in 2012. Back then, I thought e-readers such as Kindle and Kobo were the future of publishing, and that print books were on the way out. Then, one of my short stories was published in a print anthology, and to see my work in an actual printed paperback was somewhat magical. 

I can imagine! So what did you do?

Shortly afterwards, I was taking part in a media photoshoot with two fellow authors, who both had paperbacks. But all I could pose with, was my Kindle displaying the cover. That was it. I was smitten with the idea of becoming a paperback writer, so I embarked on a quest to find a print publisher, and was lucky enough to strike gold pretty quickly, and my first paperback, In Shadows Waiting, appeared in 2015.

Hhmm, that sounds more like skill than luck, but okay 😂 What publishing house?

Dragon Moon Press have brought out my novels, In Shadows Waiting, When God’s Wind Blows, Timeshaft, and The Jigsaw And The Fan; with Next Chapter publishing To Rise Again, and Thunderlands.

Two? Wow, congratulations! Although that would seem to prove you're good at your job! And talking of which, can we discuss your writing process? I've found editing has taken me far longer than I'd anticipated. How about you?

Editing!! Writers either love it or hate it. I regard it as a two-part process: roughing, then finishing. A couple of weeks after finishing the first draft I print it off and read it through. And nearly die of embarrassment. Did I really write such rubbish? Ah, but hold hard. It’s always like this, isn’t it? 

I'm laughing because yep, me too! What happens next?

A few weeks of picking it to bits, developing a few scenes here, cutting a few scenes there, showing a particular character trait earlier in the book so the reader’s not surprised by something later on, and finally, yeah, that’s okay. Pleased with that. Send it off to my publisher’s editor.  

Job done then!

Nope! Back it comes, almost every page marked with red. Developmental edits, they call them.

Oh dear! That sounds very much like my development edit too, which led to massive rewrites but that was me. What do you do?

I print off two copies. One showing all the editor’s comments with the tracked changes, and one without, so I can read the story clearly. Yes, what they’ve asked for makes perfect sense, and works extremely well. New scenes added. Other scenes removed. More banter added between the main characters. Final read through of the second draft, and back it goes. 

So, in summary, my process involves big edits to the first draft to get the story roughly into shape. Then, developmental edits as suggested by the publisher’s editor, which turns my raw story into a saleable commodity.

This is why every novel needs a professional editor.

I completely agree. It's amazing how that additional eye manages to tease a far better book out of you. But rolling things back a bit, is there a germ of an idea that starts you writing a book?

Four of my five novels explore different ways of humans continuing to exist after death in some form or another – individual ghosts, spirits, reincarnation, even one character who was violently raped and murdered centuries ago becoming a guardian angel in When God’s Wind Blows. Psychologists will probably say it all stems from my Dad’s death when I was 11, and this underlying message about death not being the end is my way of hoping he still exists in another plane.

Oh Stewart, I'm so sorry to hear this, but writing is cathartic so I wouldn't be surprised. Okay, moving on, are you a big plotter of your novels, or do you fly by the seat of your pants?

This may sound odd, but it’s actually a mixture of both. I always know where the story’s going, and try to plot the route as much as I can. But I’ve lost count of the number of times my characters suddenly go off on a tangent, doing their own thing, and I simply become a reporter, faithfully chronicling what I see unfolding before my eyes.

However, the pantster dominating the plotter really came to the fore while working on my latest novel, When God’s Wind Blows. The finished book is a paranormal crime thriller with a medical background, and is a sequel to my 2015 novel In Shadows Waiting which is set in 1982. 

When I was in plotter mode, it was going to be a standalone sci-fi novel with no connection to the characters and events in In Shadows Waiting. My original idea was that the main character would be a scientist who suffered from mental blackouts since his teenage years. 

As the plotting continued, I couldn’t see a feasible ending, and there was no conflict in it, so I realised I needed to change direction. I switched the blackouts to become the paranormal events they are in the book today, and the scientist became a retired police inspector. The conflict was going to be between that character and a criminal he caught 25 years ago who had just been released from prison.    

This raised another barrier, though, in that I’d need to devote a couple of chapters to getting a hard-nosed ex-policeman to accept the paranormal, which would waste valuable word count. So, who did I know who’s already accepted the paranormal, and gone through a horrific paranormal experience?  Simon Reynolds, in In Shadows Waiting, set nearly 40 years ago. Re-reading that book I saw how easy it would be to link the two stories, and have the cause of events in When God’s Wind Blows in 2020 and 2021, directly connected to what happened in 1982 in In Shadows Waiting.  

Gosh, I love this! But please, continue.

Moving on, here’s a case of where being a committed plotter many years ago, is paying dividends. Long before I made a breakthrough in the world of published fiction, I started to write a novel in 1986. I had a detailed 13-chapter synopsis, and actually managed to write six full chapters on my old typewriter. Those pages have been tucked away in my office ever since. 

When I made the decision to retire from writing earlier this year, I was going to throw them out, as I wasn’t prepared to commit to the time or effort needed to finish the book. But I showed the synopsis and chapters to an American thriller writer, and she’s going to finish it. All I want from it is to be credited as co-author. So, that’s a nice little project for me in retirement! 

Oh, this is brilliant! And won't it be fascinating to see what she does with it too, like maybe picking different points of view from what you'd imagined? 

And talking of which, how do you normally choose your POVs?

The point of view depends on what I’m trying to achieve, first with the book, and then with an individual scene. There’s only one point of view In Shadows Waiting, and that’s the main character written in the first person. That’s because I needed the story of the horror facing the family to be developed from their son’s perspective, building on how he feels as it grows from a slow, small start, to a raging crescendo at the climax.  

That partly continued with the sequel. But because the scope of the story spreads far beyond Simon’s perspective, I brought in several other points of view, each of which had to be clearly defined with separate chapters. POVs never switched in a chapter. 

Yes, that's a good tip. I've mainly written in the third person limited, but my upcoming debut novel is first person and it's been a revelation. I love how intimate it becomes, although it poses other problems, but that's half the fun!

Okay, how about creating your characters. Do you create profiles before, or as you write?

I have an idea of what drives the main characters before I start writing, but characteristics often develop in response to a situation. Once that characteristic has been used, I store it away to ensure further responses will be in character. This way, I can write scenes where the character’s behaviour is not only convincing, but inevitable. 

To make them true to life, I have to fully understand their motives. This aspect is what makes novel writing so exciting for me.

Effective dialogue is one of the best ways to create believable characters. Every line of dialogue needs to be tailored for the individual character, so that you can tell who is speaking, without them being constantly named, and even from isolated sentences.

And talking of character names, how do you pick yours?

I find coming up with appropriate names to be extremely difficult. They vary so much, from Albert Carter, a trade union official, through Simon Reynolds, a typical teenager in his early years who becomes a radio presenter later, to more unusual names such as Jigonhsasee, Simon’s spiritual Iroquois Guardian Angel, and Ashday’s Child, which is a nickname for the main character in Timeshaft. 

I can agonise for hours just to create a name that seems a perfect fit, but I’m rarely happy with them. 

Oh, what a shame you're rarely happy, but I do think we're all our own worst critics! How about your writing style – do you change it for different stories?

The short, generic, answer to this, is yes, that it all depends on the story and how you want to tell it. To expand a little: 

When we’re talking to someone we recall events in the past tense, so it feels natural to write in it, as well. It’s also easier to maintain across different points of view. 

Swearing can be particularly tricky. The only time I use it regularly is in When God’s Wind Blows. It can be a powerful tool, adding additional authenticity in some situations. But beware of alienating readers if it’s not managed properly. It works best when it’s true to the character and scene. 

Many authors dislike purple prose, but in my opinion it has its place if used sparingly, and to invoke certain feelings. For example, in When God’s Wind Blows, there are scenes of Simon Reynolds coming out of a medically-induced coma, and an out-of-body experience, and I use ornate descriptions of what he’s seeing and thinking. Only use this style of writing rarely, and ensure it flows well and advances either the plot or characterisation. 

That's great advice! I can tell you have a lot of experience, so can you give any advice to writers, such as avoiding common writing mistakes?

My first two pointers here are a little wider than just writing mistakes, but they’re probably the most important mistake not to make!  

Write for yourself, first of all. Your stories should make you happy. 

Secondly, you’re never too old to make it, so keep at it. Life, family and work took preference over my dreams of becoming a novelist when I was younger. My first ebook appeared when I was 56, and my first paperback three years later.

Oh, I love this! What other gems do you have?

Talent can’t be taught, but craftsmanship certainly can, and the thing about self-publishing, is that readers can find little gems that probably wouldn’t make it through the rather snobbish gatekeeping of many traditional publishers. By snobbish, I mean the oft-quoted ‘rule’ of ‘show, don’t tell.’ 

While this ‘rule’ still abounds, any writers hoping for a contract with a traditional publisher must largely show and not tell. The so-called experts say that if the main narrative voice of the book tells us what’s happening, instead of us being shown through a character’s eyes and letting us experience their feelings, it’s a big no-no. Avoid too many instances of staccato ‘this happened,’ ‘that happened.’ Describe it from the character’s viewpoint and thoughts, to take your reader directly into the heart of the action. 

Excellent advice, Stewart. And finally, marketing. How do you find it?

In the early days of my writing journey, when I self-published, promotion and marketing took an inordinate amount of time, but it had to be done. It included promotions on KDP, competitions on Facebook and X (when it was still known as Twitter), stalls at local book events and village fetes, and giving talks to local groups.

However, since being accepted by traditional publishers, they handle the lion’s share of marketing, but I’m still active on social media, and continue to give regular author talks. I’ve also been successful at getting my books accepted by local libraries.

Well, this has been a lovely chat. Thank you so much for your time, and I'd love it if we could end by seeing the blurb for your latest book, When God’s Wind Blows.

If you thought the horror was over at the end of In Shadows Waiting, think again. This sequel, set almost 40 years after the tragic events at White Pastures, is a paranormal crime thriller with a COVID backdrop, showing how grief and love affect one man’s sanity.

After a young couple are ruthlessly gunned down outside their home during the pandemic, we weave our way through Simon Reynolds’ personal COVID nightmare, as he seeks answers about the mysterious blackouts he’s experienced since his sister died at the hands of a supernatural entity back in 1982.

Slowly but surely, paranormal events intertwine Simon’s Long COVID journey with Adam and Hayley Hampshire’s murder, unveiling a plot to terrorise the entire world.

When God’s Wind Blows is a paranormal tale of love, insanity, and tragedy, of epic proportions.  

That sounds brilliant, thank you so much, and if you'd like to find out more about this wonderful author, please see his links below:

Stewart Bint website and blog

Stewart Bint, Amazon

Stewart Bint, Goodreads

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GUEST AUTHOR - JOANNE PAULSON

I'm delighted to introduce the lovely (and prolific!) author Joanne (J.C.) Paulson to the blog. She's a long-time Saskatoon journalist and has been published in newspapers including The StarPhoenix, The Western Producer, the Saskatoon Express and many other publications over more years than she cares to admit 🤣

Her unquiet brain requested a shift from fact to fiction about ten years ago, when she started madly writing mystery novels based in Saskatchewan. Five of those have been independently published: Adam’s Witness, Broken Through, Fire Lake, Griffin’s Cure and a novella, Two Hundred Bones. The final book in the mystery series, The Maddox Verdict, is about to launch (exciting!) and we'll chat about that shortly, but she's also working on a romantic thriller, a standalone novel with different main characters, but within the Adam and Grace universe.

And, as if that wasn't enough, she's also the author of a traditionally-published historical fiction/western entitled Blood and Dust, and a children’s book, Magic Mack and The Mischief-Makers - what a woman! She currently lives in a rambling bungalow in Saskatoon with her husband, goldsmith Ken Paulson, a human mine of useful plot ideas. So let's meet her!

Hi Jo, thanks so much for chatting with me and I'd love to start with your new novel, as it's just launched, so what can you tell me about it? 

'The Maddox Verdict' is the sixth book in my mystery (plus love) Adam and Grace series, and completes the arc — so the series is now, finally complete. There may well be more books in the universe, but this is it.

It took me a very long time to write this book, partly due to life challenges, but also because it was extremely important to get the title character, Virgil Maddox, as perfect and as real as possible. Virgil is a Black American military veteran who lands in my city for various reasons. He is based on two men: a dear friend, who indeed is an American Vietnam veteran and an immigrant to Canada, and a client of my father’s from years ago. My father was a lawyer who defended teachers around the province.

I am neither Black nor American, nor if it comes to it, a man. So, trying to get his personality and his voice just right was extremely important to me.

Oh wow, that does sound quite a challenge. So what's it about?

It's about a teacher falsely accused of sexually assaulting three of his female students. Virgil happens to be a university friend of my main male character, Inspector (by now) Adam Davis. It turns out that there is a cabal behind these accusations — a cabal that has also perpetrated many heinous crimes. Adam is incandescent over the trumped-up charges, but is in conflict because of his relationship with the accused. He’s also supposed to be getting married to Grace Rampling, but the timing . . .

Oh my goodness, this sounds amazing (and yet another book for my TBR pile - I really need to build an extension to house all my books, lol!). Do you have a link? 

Of course! (press here)

But let's rewind, I'm fascinated by your move from reporting news to being a novelist. What prompted the change?

The first book idea chose me. I had just gone through a very difficult time, both personally and professionally, and found myself bouncing off the walls or curled in the foetal position, drinking too much and not sleeping enough. I knew this manic phase of misery had to end, but how?

Subconscious to the rescue. After approximately three months of this, I woke up at 3 a.m. (as usual) with a story rolling through my head instead of the usual anxieties. It was inspired by a local event from years earlier, about which I wrote a nasty newspaper column (I worked at the daily at that time.) One of the two local cathedrals, which rented its sanctuary to performing groups — many churches here do this, to raise renovation funds and so on — cancelled the local gay men’s choir concert.

I was livid and said so in print. It was one of two columns I wrote over several years that received the most reaction, most of it pro-choir.

So that dark night, I suddenly had built a plot around this event, including a murder (that did not happen in real life, ha!), a red-haired and passionate reporter (my female main character), and a very handsome (I couldn’t resist) detective sergeant who takes the case, solves the crime, and falls madly in love at first sight with the journalist.

I wrote it in about a year, not having clue one what I was doing. I had basic English skills, of course, after years of being a journalist. But a novel!? I read those things. I didn’t write them. Yet there I was. 

There is usually a germ of real life underlying my mystery stories, with the exception of Griffin’s Cure which was almost entirely made up of whole cloth. But my primary passion and motivation is creating books that address social issues: homophobia, misogyny, racism.

And yes, before you ask, I have indeed been called a woke libtard and much worse. Will I stop? No.

Good for you! I'm sure I'm not the only person standing up and applauding you right now! But sorry, please carry on.

Next I veered over into historical fiction with my western, Blood and Dust, which is traditionally published. The book emerged from a nightmare of my husband’s. Within a week, I had decided to write a first chapter which naturally placed itself in 1880s Canada. I showed it to him, his jaw dropped, and off I went.

That said, again, lol, there are also social issues at play in that book! Even my wee children’s book has a social issue at its root, so I guess I do not veer far from the core passion.

I love how you're true to your passions, as I'm sure that energy will come across in your writing, but what about novel outlining - are you a plotter or pantser? 

I am largely a pantser, but the basic plot and definitely the first few chapters and the ending are clear in my head before I begin. I don’t know how people can write fiction without knowing the ending. How on earth do you get there? I outline in my head and never use any aids.

I agree about not knowing the ending, but I plan a lot - I don't know what I'd do without my trusty spreadsheet!  How about deciding on a point of view (POV)?

POV, for some reason, is an easy decision for me. It’s just what the book calls for. In the case of the western, it’s the story of this young man’s journey from eastern to western Canada and it’s written entirely from his POV. It felt right.

In the case of the mysteries, there are two dominant POVs — the reporter and the cop — but sometimes I give the character around whom the plot revolves a POV as well. I’ve been naughty and given some of the other police officers limited POVs too. This is, in part, because the plots sometimes take my detective away from the on-the-ground investigation.

I'm loving the naughty! Talking of characters, do you create full profiles before you start, or as you go along?

I don't create profiles. 

Whaaat? How do you do that?

If I can’t “see” my characters, they don’t belong in my book. If they are not in my brain or my heart or both, I can’t write them. So they just live with me. This makes their characteristics generally quite easy to write as well.

Oh, I wish I was like that! How about naming characters?

Names are a bit of a different story, particularly for tertiary characters. I google the hell out of them. I don’t want them, particularly the villains, to have the same names as local people; my books are largely based in my own home city and other parts of the province.

I blew it spectacularly once. Sgt. Joan Karpinski is one of my favourite secondary characters. She has indeed had a few POV chapters. As always, I searched the name and found nothing. It turns out that an acquaintance’s relative has, indeed, that name. Thank goodness the relative was chuffed instead of upset and occasionally calls herself “Sergeant Joan.” I love that.

Thank goodness she saw it that way! What about some of the technicalities, like picking tenses, choosing language styles, etc?

I am most comfortable in basic past tense and therefore always “write there.” I find present tense hard to read, personally, so there’s that too.

There is a fat lot of swearing in my novels, but I hope I don’t take it too far; at least, not so far that it gets either boring or too offensive. I mean, these are cops, right. And bad guys. They swear.

True, and your genre does call for realism, so it's a good choice. But what about purple prose? Is that ever a problem?

I am not a fan of a lot of description and certainly not of purple prose. It’s not (I hope and think) a big problem, because I write action-based novels with a lot of (too much?) dialogue. Scaling back the dialogue is a bigger issue for me.

I'm the same - I love writing dialogue! But as you're so experienced, do you have any tips for newbie or aspiring writers?

I have SO many tips! I do some content and line editing and I’m constantly adding tips to my list. It’s hard to know where to begin, really. Here are a few fundamentals.

If you write, you had better also read. It is amazing how much brains can glean about word usage, style, grammar and character development without the prefrontal cortex even noticing.

Be sure to read a good book on novel-writing basics. It’s stunning how many people cannot properly write and punctuate dialogue tags, for example. Also, sentence fragments. (Ha). Sometimes, they work for emphasis. Too many of them and your reader will be flinging the book across the room.

Avoid overusing words. Avoid overusing words. Just already seriously suddenly avoid overusing the same dang words.

🤣🤣 Oh, I love this! I think I'm getting the message...! 

Okay, let's switch to the publishing side of things now. You mentioned you've been both traditionally and self-published - can you tell me more?

When I wrote the first book, Adam’s Witness, I decided I was too old to be pitching a murder mystery to agents or publishers. That was almost 10 years ago, so apparently I have survived and maybe didn’t make the best decision. I did get some agent interest afterward, but it was too late for my series. I was told that it would be next to impossible finding a publisher for an already-published work.

When I wrote the western, however, I thought well, it’s now or never. So I pitched it to two publishing houses (to begin with) and one took it.

Oh wow, congratulations! That's quite some feat. 

For me, editing seems key in producing quality work, it's made such a difference to my work, but what about you? What's your process and do you use professional editors?

I wish I could answer that first question. I edit it until I feel it’s finished. I expect it’s at least a dozen full passes, with much intermittent peering at single chapters. I don’t read it out loud, but I know this works for a lot of authors.

I cannot stress this enough. Every book — EVERY SINGLE BOOK EVER — needs at least one editor. I usually have a content editor, a sensitivity editor, a legal editor (not for fear of being sued, but because there is so much law and police procedure in my books), and a proofreader. I’m lucky that my legal editor is also a genius proofreader. That doesn’t include betas. 

That's sound advice, and seeing as you've just mentioned them, tell me about your betas. And do you send out ARCs (Advance Reader Copies)?

I always have at least five beta readers. In the past, I have not employed ARCs, although that may change. I have not independently published in a few years, and in that time the universe has exploded with change. I have to say I’m not sure what to recommend now.

Previously, I have always lined up press interviews, done a book launch/signing, posted an incredible amount on social media, done the pre-order thing and at least one promo site sale, usually about three or four weeks after launch.

Aww, marketing – it's such a divisive subject within the writing world. What works well for you?

I’ve tried it all, apart from book tours and blog tours. Some things have worked once or twice; others have not; some things stop working. The one thing that will generally work is showing up in BookBub deals, if you can get them.

Social media, once upon a time, did help generate visibility and sometimes sales, but that does not seem to be the case today, at least in my experience . . . which admittedly, is not as vast as it once was. I am feeling quite burned out on social and trying to generate the energy for my next two adventures.

I did one successful advertising campaign on Twitter/X. The downside of that were the legions of horrible, homophobic, misogynist and filthy comments that ended up attached to the ad. I couldn’t bring myself to do it again, although I will probably give it another shot for The Maddox Verdict. We’ll see.

It’s a minefield. Tread very, very carefully.

Yikes, I can't believe your adverts attracted that type of hatred. That's quite saddening, but it'll be interesting to see how your new novel goes. 

Can I ask about your cover art – is that your work or do you employ others?

Oh maaaaan, this is the tough one. I have tried many cover designers, I’m afraid, and it has never worked out. One made Adam’s Witness look like a work of religious fiction (I get it, but still) and it just isn’t. One day, I will find the right person and redo all my covers. Because yes, I’ve unfortunately done them myself. 

I am testing yet another book cover production company right now. It is time to update my covers. Here’s the thing about that: times and trends change, and covers probably should also change along with them.

I'll admit, I was surprised at how much cover trends affect sales, it's a bit of a minefield! And talking of which, do you have any tips for the more technical side of writing?

I am generally unimpressed with writing software programs, none of which I will mention by name. A couple have been useful in finding repetitive words and so on, but they were not worth the effort overall, in my opinion.

I will not use AI for writing in any way ever. I don’t even use it for research. I don’t find it reliable enough.

Luckily for Canadians, our ISBNs are free! I always get my own ISBNs (not everyone does if they are exclusive to Amazon) because I want to OWN that number. Also, copyright is automatic. I declare it anyway on the title page.

Ooh, you lucky Canadians! I had to buy my ISBNs - yet another expense but, as you say, at least you own them so that's better for control. 

I'd love to end by asking your opinion on common writing mistakes – do you have any pet hates?

Due to my history, I tend to notice basic language use and grammar errors. This is not to say I am remotely perfect. At all.

I see comma splices, lack of subject-verb agreement, possessives used as plurals and poor dialogue tag use — especially when they aren’t tags at all, but physical actions. “That was so funny,” he chuckled. Or obvious bits of dialogue that should be shown, not told, adding insult to injury with a tag that means the same thing: “I was so angry,” he fumed. I got that the first time, lol.

Repetition, along with not knowing the precise meaning of a word you’re using, also makes me kind of crazy. “You’re completely devoid of humour,” for example. Devoid actually means “completely empty.”

Well, Jo, you have been an utter delight! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me, and if you'd like to find out more about this wonderful author, please visit her website here or you can find her links below. 

Substack: https://joannepaulson.substack.com/

X: https://x.com/joanne_paulson

IG: https://www.instagram.com/paulson.joanne/

Book One of the Adam and Grace Mystery Series: mybook.to/AdamsWitness

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/J.C.-Paulson/author/B071GVF9N4

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