Ask the Author: Martyn Stanley
Answered Questions (16)
Martyn Stanley
Alarmingly there are various events in my family and circle of people I've known which could make a gripping book. It would be very dark though. Probably too dark.
Martyn Stanley
Best book I read this year? Hands down 'World Without End' by Ken Follett. It's an absolutely brilliant book. It's genuinely one those rare books which is a truly 'addictive' read.
Martyn Stanley
Probably not Torea - the place where my Deathsworn Arc novels are set. Life seems pretty harsh for most Toreans. Having said that, not sure I'd go for Westeros either.... :/
Martyn Stanley
You wake up feeling unsettled, having gone to sleep with sharp, stabbing pains in your chest. Sitting up in bed, you feel lighter, then notice you're transparent, hovering above your grey, lifeless corpse...
Martyn Stanley
The first thing is to ask for a review in your book! Just after the ending. Then try to get some copies out there. A Library Thing giveaway is a great way to pick up a few reviews. If you see from someone's specific comments or reviews on Goodreads, then it might, MIGHT be appropriate to respectfully direct them towards your book in a PM or a comment. I'd use this very cautiously though, I've done this, but only very rarely. Another good route is to list on Bookplex - they promote books that require reviews or you could contact a publicist like Maxine Groves of Book Lover Cat Lady and ask if she's got any means of helping you. I know she has a very loyal reader base so should be able to help you entice people to review. Her FB page is here:- https://www.facebook.com/BookloverCat... could try Online Book Club. Having looked at your profile though, the FIRST thing you should do and this is VITAL! Is get your Goodreads account setup as an author account, list your books! Set your links up! Get your account here sorted out! Actually just looked again and you have an author account setup! Personally I would merge your account or just use your author account here. So if people are interested and follow your profile they can see that you write and what you've written!
Martyn Stanley
All the polls I've created are here:- https://www.goodreads.com/poll/create... which one were you looking for?
Martyn Stanley
Getting positive review, they always lift my spirits. Also being able to choose what happens in an epic saga. Creating new worlds in your head and then populating them with living, breathing people is a magical feeling.
Martyn Stanley
Tough one. A lot of what I read isn't focused on romance. I like the relationship between Korhan and Vashni, but it isn't a romantic one. I like the relationship between Lindie and Kaya. I like the relationship between Elden and Vexis. For work that isn't mine, I'd say Geralt of Rivia's relationship with Yennefer of Venger. They just seem so right for each other.
Martyn Stanley
Deathsworn Arc 5: The Temple of the Mad God has so much in it. Part of the story I'm working on at the moment is a refugee crisis in a town called Briem, where people are fleeing a dragon cult in the north. I wanted to cover this topic ever since I saw the plight of Syrians trying to cross from Libya to Europe. I really want to explore both perspectives, that's a big thing for me. I'm also exploring the negative consequences of things that happened earlier in the series. So things people did, which they thought were 'good things to do' are having negative consequences, and we learn about them in book 5. I think this is true of life too. It's rare to understand all the consequences of our actions.
Martyn Stanley
There are some characters I love and others I love to hate. I'd say over the series, so far are Vashni, Brael and Vexis. Up and coming characters, I DO like Fox, I see her being a great character and possibly a favourite by the end of book 5. I like Melchiot as a love to hate character. He's awful, but he's interesting. Brael is kind of annoying, he talks too much - he lectures people. However I kind of like him anyway? I feel like he's the Richard Dawkins of Torea!
Thanks for asking! :)
Martyn
Thanks for asking! :)
Martyn
Martyn Stanley
I think most people find Deathsworn Arc to be a little too adult for YA. I don't see most mature 14+ having a problem with it, but I don't think it's suitable for most under 10's.
I do have some WIP's in other genres in various states of finish. I have a time travel story in the early stages. I also have a black comedy novel about static caravans in Wales well under-way and a seriously dark sci-fi fantasy about angels and demons. Once I have book 4 of the Deathsworn Arc 'Rise of the Archmage' finished I will start work on all of these again.
Also, I have my short stories based on English folklore, 'The Lambton Worm' and 'Return of the Worm Slayer' I was considering re-telling George and the Dragon and the Laidly Worm too, but given that my first two haven't been very popular I'm thinking I'll leave them on the back-burner and focus on my full length works.
Thanks so much for asking!
I do think the black comedy will be very, very good. So good I might try to get it trad-pubbed before I self-pub it. That means it will probably be a long wait for that one either way.
I do have some WIP's in other genres in various states of finish. I have a time travel story in the early stages. I also have a black comedy novel about static caravans in Wales well under-way and a seriously dark sci-fi fantasy about angels and demons. Once I have book 4 of the Deathsworn Arc 'Rise of the Archmage' finished I will start work on all of these again.
Also, I have my short stories based on English folklore, 'The Lambton Worm' and 'Return of the Worm Slayer' I was considering re-telling George and the Dragon and the Laidly Worm too, but given that my first two haven't been very popular I'm thinking I'll leave them on the back-burner and focus on my full length works.
Thanks so much for asking!
I do think the black comedy will be very, very good. So good I might try to get it trad-pubbed before I self-pub it. That means it will probably be a long wait for that one either way.
Martyn Stanley
I never find inspiration a problem! I always have ideas building up faster than I can write them. When I'm actually writing properly - I don't even think about what I'm writing. I just rest my fingers on the keys and see what comes out. Obviously it often needs some reworking obviously. I do think the best creativity comes from the sub-conscious. You can over-think writing I think. I draw my ideas from a variety of sources, mainly my world-view and my love of high concepts. I like to think everything I do has something different and interesting about it. I may be wrong of course - but I like to think I'm doing something that isn't 'run-of-the-mill'.
Martyn Stanley
Thanks for the question!
I have a full plot for the entire series scratched out in rough. The main villain of the series gets introduced late in book 4. I expect book 4 will be titled 'The Temple of the Mad God'
At that point we'll be about half way through the overall plot. I have titles for other books, I expect the finale to be called 'God Slayer'. For book 5 at the moment I imagine it will be either 'Emergence' or 'Mark of the Deathsworn' but I'm not sure yet.
I expect it to run out to eight books. That is subject to change though!
I have a full plot for the entire series scratched out in rough. The main villain of the series gets introduced late in book 4. I expect book 4 will be titled 'The Temple of the Mad God'
At that point we'll be about half way through the overall plot. I have titles for other books, I expect the finale to be called 'God Slayer'. For book 5 at the moment I imagine it will be either 'Emergence' or 'Mark of the Deathsworn' but I'm not sure yet.
I expect it to run out to eight books. That is subject to change though!
Martyn Stanley
Read lots and write lots, don't afraid to ask people to criticize your writing - preferably people who won't gloss over the issues. Read as many genres as you can - to truly find your voice you have to read lots of others' voices. I also suggest trying Autocrit and Pro Writing Aid, they can help you pick up on basic issues with your writing - like over-repetition for example.
Martyn Stanley
I'm simultaneously writing book 4 of the Deathsworn Arc, working title 'The Temple of the Mad God' and editing and polishing book 3, 'The Blood Queen' I expect to have book 3 out within four to six weeks. Book 4 will be a few months though - I'm only 10,000 words in and it'll need some polishing after it's written.
*Update 14th June 2016
I'm now working on Deathsworn Arc 5 and the black comedy mainly. I also have a supernatural thriller sketched out and I have a solid plot for my time-travel WIP I started ages ago. Too many projects! Too little time! I've done nothing on my Demon's and Angels YA Sci-Fi crossover thing for months. At the moment I'm most enthused by the black comedy about caravans, DS5, the time travel one and the supernatural - in that order!
*Update 14th June 2016
I'm now working on Deathsworn Arc 5 and the black comedy mainly. I also have a supernatural thriller sketched out and I have a solid plot for my time-travel WIP I started ages ago. Too many projects! Too little time! I've done nothing on my Demon's and Angels YA Sci-Fi crossover thing for months. At the moment I'm most enthused by the black comedy about caravans, DS5, the time travel one and the supernatural - in that order!
Martyn Stanley
The only way to deal with writer's block is to write and keep writing. It's better to write something, then scrap it or save it for another project than to just stop writing. You have to write, even when you don't feel like it.
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