Welcome to Beth Barany, this week’s Blog Ring of Power guest. An author and speaker, Beth is the award-winning author of HENRIETTA THE DRAGON SLAYER, a young adult fantasy novel, and book 1 of the Five Kingdom series. Book 2 is coming in Spring 2013.
A certified Creativity Coach, Beth Barany is also the bestselling author of The Writer’s Adventure Guide: 12 Stages to Writing Your Book, and Overcome Writer’s Block. She’s recently released Twitter For Authors: Social Media Book Marketing Strategies for Shy Writers, the subject of her national and international talks.
She’s been a columnist and editor at “The National Networker,” and a contributing author to several anthologies, including “Writing Romance,” a bestseller, and “Creativity Coaching Success Stories.”
She was the editor of “When I Was There,” the bestselling anthology of stories about life at UC Berkeley, 1960-2010, and
is also the editor for the bestseller, “Honest Medicine: Effective, Time-Tested, Inexpensive Treatments for Life-Threatening Diseases” by Julia Schopick.
Beth Barany is now the editor and publisher of the “Author Entrepreneurship Magazine,” to help authors build and maintain successful careers.
Beth speaks to groups and conferences all over the San Francisco Bay Area, across the United States, and internationally. Typically who she works with are authors who ready to get their books completed and out into the world.
Don’t miss the rest of Beth’s interview with the Blog Ring of Power:
Part 1 – Monday, March 11 @ Sandra Ulbrich Almazon – http://ulbrichalmazan.blogspot.com/
Part 2 – Tuesday, March12 @ Dean C. Rich – http://deanswritingtime.blogspot.com/
Part 3 – Wednesday, March 13 @ Terri Bruce – http://www.terribruce.net
Part 5 – Friday, March 15 @ Emily LaBonte – http://emlabonte.blogspot.com/
PART 4: ABOUT YOUR CURRENT WORK
Tell us about your new book and when it is out? Where can people purchase it? My new book will be out sometime in the spring of 2013. It’s book 2 in my YA fantasy series, The Five Kingdoms, and is called Henrietta and The Dragon Stone. This book picks up right where book 1 left off.
HENRIETTA AND THE DRAGON STONE: What if the one thing between you and your ideal life was a man bent on destroying you and everyone you loved?
Henrietta the celebrated dragon slayer is returning home with the Dragon Stone to heal her dying mentor. But an evil sorcerer wants the stone for himself so he can rule the Five Kingdoms, and he wants Henrietta and all who are close to her, dead.
People will be able to purchase it on Amazon. In the meantime they can check out Henrietta The Dragon Slayer, the first book in the series, on Kindle and sign up for my newsletter to be notified with the next book comes out, and to be entered into my monthly giveaways for goodies.
Is there anything new, unusual, or interesting about your book? How is it different from other books on the same subject? I like to think that Henrietta is a new and unusual sort of character. Aren’t we all unique in some way? I haven’t read any fantasy books in which the heroine struggles with her leadership role, love, and her growing magical powers in just this way.
What was the hardest part of writing this book? Finishing. Finishing both boo k1 and 2 has taken me about 5 years. LOL Letting go of a novel — by that I mean publishing the book — that I deeply care about has been challenging thus far, and book 2 is no different.
What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why? In Henrietta The Dragon Slayer, I really liked writing the fight scenes. In Henrietta and The Dragon Stone, I loved writing about the burgeoning relationship between Henrietta and Franc, her friend and bodyguard, and exploring how two strong hard-headed people could come together. Who would yield and soften first? Who would take charge? How could love survive the challenges of the threats surrounding them?
Tell us about your book’s cover – where did the design come from and what was the design process like? The cover for book 2, Henrietta and The Dragon Stone, was derived from book 1. We switched the background color to highlight the stone, and shifted Henrietta’s face to be more prominent. I work with my husband to design our covers. He takes my suggestions but also comes up with his own ideas. We discuss the experience we want the readers to have and how best to convey that with the images, the colors and font. Lots of back and forth between us, and I also get feedback from my trusted group of YA fantasy writers on what works and what could be improved to reach our goal of a compelling, delicious cover that makes the ideal reader say, “I want that!” and reach for the book.
Is your book in print, ebook or both? Both!
Here’s how you can get in touch with Beth and learn more about her books.
Email: beth@bethbarany.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HenriettaTheDragonSlayer
Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4169630.Beth_Barany
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/beth_barany
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/46068
