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Saturday, July 21, 2012

Interview of Merita King

Author of

"The Lilean Chronicles" Collection





Hello Ms. King, and thank you for joining us! It's a great pleasure and honor to have you featured on my blog once again.

Last time we featured you, you had just one story released (The Lilean Chronicles: Redemption – the first part in a series of 4), now the entire collection is complete. I commend you on that, as it is a very big accomplishment. Congratulations!

Today, I've brought you back in order to share with my public information on your entire series.


1. First, I'd like to ask; What made you decide that your first story would eventually turn into a collection?
Many thanks for inviting me back. I realized before I was halfway through the first book that there would be another. This same thing happened each time; I got the idea for the next volume whilst I was still writing the one before. The characters let me know without a doubt that their story would take more than one book to tell and I was more than happy to let them steer the ship.
 

2. Did the characters in your stories become real to you somehow? If so, in what way?
Good lord, yes they do indeed become real and to me, they are very real. It’s difficult to explain but it’s like when you think of a friend who is far away. You can’t see them but you know what they look like, what they sound like, what their personality is like and you can have a conversation with them in your head and you know instinctively how they’d answer or respond. It’s like this with my characters; they are my friends. I am a very spiritual person and I think of their existence in a spiritual way. Any scientist will tell you that everything in existence is made of energy and that once created, energy cannot ever be destroyed, only changed. Our thoughts and emotions are energy and when we send these thoughts and emotions in a finely focused direction, for instance when we think of a fictional character, we are sending real, measurable energy to them. Over time, that energy gives the character a real existence of sorts, just not in the physical way that we have existence. I like my characters, I respect them and trust them and I feel those same emotions coming from them, back to me. They give as much to me as I do to them.


3. How did you decide on the titles for each one of your stories?
The titles always came to me while writing the book and all just popped into my head and I knew instantly that it was right. The only one I had trouble with, was the fourth book, the last in the series and I struggled for ages to find a suitable title. I like the titles to reflect a major aspect of the story; to almost tell the story themselves and I like short, snappy titles. There was a time when I thought I would never get a title for the fourth book, but then, whilst I was googling for some ideas on an online thesaurus, I came across a series of links that ended up with me finding the perfect title at last.
 

4. Has writing become a even bigger part of your life than it had already been?
Yes it has. I now feel like a writer. I feel more confident of my abilities than I did before and I know that I will always be a writer.
 

5. Are you now, or will you at some point, be writing another story(ies)? If so, could you share a little about your upcoming work with us? Yes definitely. I am still editing the fourth volume of The Lilean Chronicles, for publishing in the new year, and I’m already writing the first in a new series featuring the adventures of one of the characters from the final volume of my last series. When I wrote this character into the fourth volume of the last series, I realized pretty quickly that he could have his own series and the first of these is what I’m working on at the moment. I also have a couple of ideas for stand alone novels when the new series ends or when I just fancy a change of character. As always, my genre will be space opera/science fiction/fantasy
 

6. Have you found that the life of a Writer is or isn't what you expected?
I don’t know that I really expected it to be anything. It certainly isn’t glamorous being an unknown writer and it pays absolutely nothing but to be able to create something; to create lives, dynasties and worlds is something amazing and I’m so proud to be able to do it reasonably well.
 

7. Have you had continuous or new support from family, friends, or fellow writers? If not, is it hard for you to have no support?
I’ve had some encouragement, but little actual support as such. For me there’s a distinct difference between encouragement and support. Encouragement is people telling you to keep going whilst support is something active, designed to help you achieve. Many people are encouraging but only a few have turned their words into action. The best support I’ve had is from the two guys who do my covers. They are amazingly talented and work tirelessly for me and never get annoyed with my ideas. They’re great guys and I’m so appreciative of their support. A few folks have purchased the paperbacks, but not many at all. There is a hard core of real fans who buy them and I love those folks but most have only got my books since I decided to give the e-book versions away for free.
 

8. Looking back at your completed series; Would you change anything?
It’s funny as I was only thinking about this the other day. I have to say no, I wouldn’t change anything about the story. It is their story you see, not mine and it is as they gave it to me. I don’t write the story, I just take dictation from my characters and apart from making sure it’s laid out correctly, I don’t feel it’s right to make changes to what they’ve told me. This probably means I’ll never get to be world famous or rich, but that’s not why I write; I write because my characters demand I tell their story.
 

9. How hard or simple has Self-publishing been for you?
At first it was a scary technological nightmare and I admit that for my first two books, I paid someone to do the formatting and uploading for me. I have had to learn as I’ve gone along and now I’m much more clued up about things and can write my first draft with far fewer mistakes than when I started writing, which was just a year ago by the way. I read internet articles about how to lay out dialogue and found I had to go through the first draft of my first book and re do all the dialogue layout. Along the way I’ve picked up snatches here and there which all help me do a bit better each time and help to make each book a little more professional than the last and the great thing about self publishing is that you can always re edit and re issue as many times as you like as your knowledge improves. When I published the third volume in my series, I decided to bite the bullet and try the formatting and uploading myself and it was a breeze, thanks to the downloadable template that lulu give you. So easy and the e-book formatting has always been easy thanks to the excellent guide offered by smashwords. The real nightmare of course, is marketing. I suck at it.
 

10. Does it sadden you that the people and characters of The Lilean Chronicles are no longer such a big part of your life, now that it is complete?
Yes it does. In a way I’m mourning for Vincent and I’m very aware of him having stepped back a little to allow Sam to come forward for the new series. He’ll always be there though; friends never lose touch completely and who knows, one day there may be another volume of The Lilean Chronicles. 

 
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Could you please share a small excerpt or synopsis of each one of the stories in the collection with us?


The Lilean Chronicles: Book One ~ Redemption


Two ancient prophecies, both foretelling the extinction of a race. Two sides racing to their appointment with destiny. A terrible tide of evil laying waste to their world. So much rage, fear and a baby crying. A single baby prophesied to save Lilea and many other worlds from extinction by the Transmortal Army. One single man who will bring an end to the evil that almost wiped them out and in doing so, save many worlds from their darkness. Vincent worries for his sanity as he suffers the nightmares and hears the voices in the dreams. As he battles with the nightmares and the source of the voices in the dreams is revealed, he begins to discover his destiny and finds that there are other forces at work against him.


Many worlds away Farra discovers her part in his great task. Can she survive the terrors that lurk in the tunnels and can she unmask the mysterious killer? The ancient spirit people take them on a journey through space and time as they both race from world to world to meet their date with destiny and fulfil the prophecy.




The Lilean Chronicles: Book Two ~ The Sleeping
Just as Vincent and Farra begin to relax after their battle with the Transmortal Army, a new terror befalls Lilea. As they look forward to their pledging ceremony the first signs of something wrong become apparent. They cannot understand why their spirit guides left them and it isn't until the Lilean people begin to succumb to a mysterious affliction that they realise a new evil is among them. Plunged into a terrible nightmare, Vincent battles to find reality amongst the make believe as he struggles to come to terms with loss and betrayal.


Many days away across the gulf of space their Drycenian friends suddenly find themselves hosts to some uninvited guests who beg them for their help. Whilst racing to Lilea they must find a way to communicate with their new guests in order for them to know how to aid their friends. It is up to one man to venture into the darkness alone and put his own soul at risk to save Vincent, so they can try to end this new evil and save Lilea from the terror of The Sleeping.




The Lilean Chronicles: Book Three ~ Changing Faces


An evil, ancient as time itself is inadvertently set free and begins to feed, threatening the Drycenian home world and all of her people with extinction. Vincent, Farra and Kyle find themselves once again called into duty as chosen ones to battle this new terror that has befallen their friends. As they struggle to understand what is happening around them, they find themselves also battling many more personal inner demons.


How can a man be in two places at once and who murdered the little princess? Can Vincent escape execution and can the friends find the mysterious spiritual leader who is the only one who knows how to kill an evil so ancient that it is thought to be nothing more than legend?




The Lilean Chronicles: Book Four ~ Avalanche Effect (to be released new year 2013)


It’s been more than two years since Vincent, Farra & Kyle returned from their harrowing experiences on Drycenia and their idyllic family life is shattered by the arrival of a mysterious stranger and the dreadful news he brings them. Going against the wishes of the Lilean spirit people, Vincent and Farra race from world to world in search of Gabriel and as faces from the past re-appear, they discover the links between a dreadful war, a medal won for valour and a legendary angel.


It began with a broken promise and ended with a change to the path of destiny. A small action taken in a moment of desperation that causes massive changes to the destiny of others
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Where can we purchase them?


Paperbacks are available to purchase from lulu.com http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?type=&keyWords=the+lilean+chronicles&x=9&y=11&sitesearch=lulu.com&q=




E-books are available for free download from smashwords.com http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=The+Lilean+Chronicles and at all the usual online retailers.

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