Ask the Author: Beth Brower
Answered Questions (14)
Beth Brower
I just posted a map last month on my Substack: Beth Brower Scribbles Away. It's an open post for anyone to access.
https://bethbrower.substack.com/
Thanks so much for being a reader!
https://bethbrower.substack.com/
Thanks so much for being a reader!
Beth Brower
Yes! They will certainly be audiobooks. The trick is that I need to find the right voice for the job. I would rather not have then than have the wrong voice. So it may take some time, but they will come.
Working on getting an audio book of The Q done this year.
Working on getting an audio book of The Q done this year.
Beth Brower
Hello Tiffany!
Right now there isn't a box set available. With so many Emma's to go, that would be difficult to keep up with on the logistical end as the goal is to release a few Emma M. Lion's a year. Fingers crossed!
Cheers,
Beth
Right now there isn't a box set available. With so many Emma's to go, that would be difficult to keep up with on the logistical end as the goal is to release a few Emma M. Lion's a year. Fingers crossed!
Cheers,
Beth
Beth Brower
The end of this summer! I will be announcing a date in about a week!
Update: the release date has been announced. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 7 will be out August 29th!
Update: the release date has been announced. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 7 will be out August 29th!
Beth Brower
Good question! Rhysdon, in this case, is pronounced: rise-done.
Cheers!
Cheers!
Beth Brower
I was not! I was in my 30s. Alas. You could always cover that base with a reading of The Outsiders!
Beth Brower
Lauren,
I usually describe it as 'other world fantasy, no magic'. (With a hint of mysticism.) The historical section doesn't because it is not a fictional history of our world. For that reason, a library would most likely place it in fantasy. But you are right, it is in a different niche than most fantasy. The Books of Imirillia seem to work really well for both those who enjoy fantasy and those who don't, which pleases me.
Cheers,
Beth
I usually describe it as 'other world fantasy, no magic'. (With a hint of mysticism.) The historical section doesn't because it is not a fictional history of our world. For that reason, a library would most likely place it in fantasy. But you are right, it is in a different niche than most fantasy. The Books of Imirillia seem to work really well for both those who enjoy fantasy and those who don't, which pleases me.
Cheers,
Beth
Beth Brower
I am working away so that it can be released SOON! Hang in there! Because things are happening in St. Crispian's...
Beth Brower
Tiny,
Hello! I'm sorry I missed this question! Thank you for reading my books! There are a few projects in the works that I will be giving more details about soon. One is a companion novel to The Q, regarding a certain smuggler we all know. More news soon!
Hello! I'm sorry I missed this question! Thank you for reading my books! There are a few projects in the works that I will be giving more details about soon. One is a companion novel to The Q, regarding a certain smuggler we all know. More news soon!
Beth Brower
My next novel comes out in January, and it's called The Beast of Ten! I'm very excited about it, and am going through the traditional Elation v. Struggle that comes with any creative process.
Beth Brower
I've been absorbing Eva Ibbotson's books -- A Song for Summer, A Company of Swans, The Secret Countess, The Magic Flute. I'm in love.
Beth Brower
Go for it. There is always room for more writing. Anyone who tells you otherwise must see you as competition rather than a fellow writer, struggling to get out what's eating you from the inside. Remember that you will spend more time with this story, more time with these characters, than anybody else. You have to be committed. So write what YOU love. Write what YOU can believe in, what YOU can get behind. That might be satirical essays. That might be comic books. Thanks heavens we have both. That doesn't mean you get to be self indulgent, or exploit the reader in cheap ways. Or revive every immature fantasy you had when you were twelve. Oh no. Hold yourself to a high standard. And keep fighting to be there. Don't give in, but make sure that you are fighting for the excellence on top of your own mountain, not someone else's, because it's popular, or you think your professor would approve more. Nope. Climb your own writing hill, but be excellent, and don't compromise on that. And then be bold. If you keep at it, sincerely working hard, I think you'll get better. I hope I will. So, be pleased with what you can struggle to get finished now, and look forward with what you will create tomorrow.
Those are my initial thoughts...
Those are my initial thoughts...
Beth Brower
I've heard other writers say that, at some point, you have to learn you don't get to have writer's block. And yes. I agree...? Except, I think you need to know yourself well enough to understand how to handle it for yourself, on both a larger scale and on a daily basis. You will encounter it. So. You need to figure a few things out.
There comes a time where you have to say, "I would rather write than..." And you stop watching that T.V. show, or stop spending all your extra time wandering through a fantastic second hand store, or even, *gasp*, the bookstore. {Not that I don't spend plenty of time there. But, you know. You know when your doing everything but.}
On the larger scale, I learned how to deal with writer's block by telling myself I had to write everyday. So, I would come home from work {I've been the Head Gardener at a private estate called Rivendell for the last seven years} so exhausted from a long day and I would sit down, pull my laptop onto my lap, and just go. Sometimes you just can't get into the manuscript you're writing, like it's locked from you and you've fumbled about for the key. No dice. Here I always make a judgement call--Do I need to be writing something else? Or, do I need to sit down and pound this scene out. Both are appropriate. You have to learn how to sense that.
On the small daily scale? You need to get it into your head, know when you're going to get going, and just pick up your computer. Yesterday I was having a rough time getting into my editing. I'd been super sick all week {the spend all day in bed for a week and forget that the outside world operates normally sick.} So, I read a blog post by a favorite author, then I went into my library, and sat down in front of the shelves. I stared at some of my favorite author's books, ran my eyes along their body of works. And I thought, I have so many books waiting to get out, I've gotta get going. Then I was excited about my work, about what I was trying to accomplish. And, I was in the game. I had several productive hours and rocked it again today. So, I guess that's what I mean when I say you've gotta find the little things that help you out.
Do any of you have tricks of your own?
There comes a time where you have to say, "I would rather write than..." And you stop watching that T.V. show, or stop spending all your extra time wandering through a fantastic second hand store, or even, *gasp*, the bookstore. {Not that I don't spend plenty of time there. But, you know. You know when your doing everything but.}
On the larger scale, I learned how to deal with writer's block by telling myself I had to write everyday. So, I would come home from work {I've been the Head Gardener at a private estate called Rivendell for the last seven years} so exhausted from a long day and I would sit down, pull my laptop onto my lap, and just go. Sometimes you just can't get into the manuscript you're writing, like it's locked from you and you've fumbled about for the key. No dice. Here I always make a judgement call--Do I need to be writing something else? Or, do I need to sit down and pound this scene out. Both are appropriate. You have to learn how to sense that.
On the small daily scale? You need to get it into your head, know when you're going to get going, and just pick up your computer. Yesterday I was having a rough time getting into my editing. I'd been super sick all week {the spend all day in bed for a week and forget that the outside world operates normally sick.} So, I read a blog post by a favorite author, then I went into my library, and sat down in front of the shelves. I stared at some of my favorite author's books, ran my eyes along their body of works. And I thought, I have so many books waiting to get out, I've gotta get going. Then I was excited about my work, about what I was trying to accomplish. And, I was in the game. I had several productive hours and rocked it again today. So, I guess that's what I mean when I say you've gotta find the little things that help you out.
Do any of you have tricks of your own?
Beth Brower
When I was sixteen, sitting in Mr. Clark's Geology glass, I was thinking through a chess term I had heard. A Queen's Gambit. What an interesting phrase. It means, basically, that you sacrifice your queen in order to win the game. I had my writing book in hand, of course, full of scribbles and stories, and on the left hand side of the page I outlined a very typographically poor title, promising myself I would write that book someday. I carried the the thought and the queen around with me for several years while writing the stories of other characters. But then, one fall, while working at Rivendell {Yes, I have been the head gardener of a private estate called Rivendell for seven years} I was thinking about my queen, Eleanor, and her country, and I met a young traveler named Wil. He just walked right into Aemogen and onto the map of my mind. In the instant we shook hands, I knew his back story. And I knew the time to begin writing the book had begun.
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