The RosieBlack Chronicle’s second installment,
Equinox, has just been released at the
beginning of November. This fantastic series by the talented
Lara Morgan is a
great dystopian sci-fi adventure that has you gallivanting across the Australia
of 500 years in the future and zipping up to Mars and back to uncover evil
corporate cover-ups and save Rosie’s family. Using Lara’s own term, I’ve been
one of her ‘Minions’ right from the start. These books are what I would call
accessible sci-fi. By that I mean it doesn’t get bogged down in astrophysics
(and why should it?) but saves room for all the action and adventure you would
want! With a little bit of romance thrown in too.
This is a
very special blog post: I’m very excited to be involved in Lara Morgan’s Rosie
Black Blog Tour! I got the privilege to ask Lara some questions about Getting
Published, a topic that’s very close to my heart, being that my aspirations lie
in the very same sphere. Also, at the end I’ll let you know how you could win a
set of books 1 and 2 of the Rosie Black Chronicles.
So it’s with great
pleasure I welcome Lara to my blog.
What was
your first published work and how did you go about getting it published?
My very
first published work was a short story called Salt and it was published in
the Australian Women’s Weekly because I won their short story competition in
2003. And that win was what really put me on the road to being a professional
writer. I only entered the competition because my sister made me.
Basically she posted me the entry page and nagged me until I just did what she
said. I guess I owe her eh? My first novel was published in 2008. It was the
first in a fantasy trilogy called The Twins of Saranthium, the third and last
installment of which I’m aiming to complete next year.
How did
that experience lead you to Walker Books Australia for Rosie Black?
I guess
after writing two very big adult books, I really wanted to try my hand at
something quite different – which is how The Rosie Black Chronicles came to be.
And at the time my publisher for the fantasy trilogy wasn’t looking for any new
YA work so my agent went to some other publishers and Walker was one of them. I
guess you can say the rest was history.
Sometimes
people don't realise how much work is involved in publishing, particularly the
editing process. How long did Equinox take to write compared to editing?
The actual
writing of Equinox took about five months whereas the editing stretched to
around six or seven. So yes, the editing was longer but I think that can be a
good thing, especially when you’re working with editors who are super committed
to making the book work. I actually kind of expect the editing to take longer
because it’s really at that stage that other people are properly seeing it for
the first time and as a writer you’re getting all this feedback which helps
make it a better book. It just takes a long time sometimes to knock it all into
shape!
What did
the publishing process bring out in Rosie that surprised even you?
There’s not
much Rosie can do that surprises me because we are joined so closely together –
like peas and carrots, or white on rice – but what did surprise me is some of
the plot turns that came out of the editorial sessions when I was working on
Equinox. Obviously I can’t give away any of them because that would be
spoilers, but it was fantastic to still be able to be surprised by plot
possibilities after I thought I’d tied them all up.
Do you have
any advice for writers that are looking to get published?
Be prepared
for the long haul. Getting published can take a long, long, long time from when
you started. It took me ten years to get a book deal and I know we always hear
about those so called ‘over night’ success, but it’s best not to believe in it.
Save that belief for yourself and your work and stay committed to keep trying
even after everyone around you has done that raised eyebrow thing that says you
should give up. Obstinacy is a handy trait to cultivate for a writer. And so is
finishing things. I always tell people to force yourself to finish that first
draft, no matter how bad it is, because all writing is rewriting and most
everything can be fixed in the edit. And enter short story competitions because
you never know, you might win and that looks good on your CV when you’re trying
to get an agent or publisher to read your work.
And
finally, tell us how you feel when you look at your published books.
Everyone
always expects me to be excited, but it’s more complicated than that.
Satisfied, is a more apt description. It’s such a long time from when I’ve
started the book to when I hold that paperback in my hand that it’s almost a
relief that it’s finally done. Most authors understand this reaction but other
people look slightly perplexed, like I’ve told them a joke where the punch line
makes no sense. Which, to be fair, does sometimes happen to me because I cannot
tell jokes. But, anyway that’s how I feel. It’s satisfying, a long deep sigh
with the muttered words, ‘yes, that’s it, it’s done,’ as I put it on the shelf
next to the others. Then I get back to the one I’m working on now, because for
me the story is always most alive at the beginning when it’s just me and the
computer and I’m off in another world. So must dash, Rosie and Pip are waiting
in the wings for book three!
Ciao and
thanks.
Right! So stamina is what I will need on the road to
published-dom… Thanks for the heads up! I’m certainly glad you stuck with it, I
can’t wait for the next instalment of Rosie Black!
Check out the trailers for the first two here:
Win a set of The Rosie Black Chronicles Books 1 and 2!
The Competition has now closed.
This is how it will work:
1. Ask Lara a question through the comments below, she will
respond here while the tour is with me. (Be sure to include your name)
2. Like my blog on
Facebook (so I can get in contact with
you if you win).
3. Lara will pick her favourite question as the winner and I’ll
post you the books.
Easy!
Thanks so much for joining me here in my humble little blog
Lara, it's been great!
On Facebook you can find Rosie
HERE, and Lara
HERE
