I'm chuffed to feature Prue Batten today, a fellow indie author who I met on www.kuforum.co.uk. I asked Prue to supply a bio to share with you all, and had to giggle at the response she sent.
Over to Prue...
The best way to describe myself would be to use a quote written about me by Mark Williams on a recent blog (http://markwilliamsinternational.com/)
Here it is: ‘She lives in Tasmania, has a pet Tasmanian Devil called Gisborne, eats kangaroos’ testicles, has the most ridiculous one-star ever awarded on Amazon, and wrote a novel on Twitter…’
Believe it or not, most of it is true. My husband and I own a farm so we do have lots of kangaroos around, but the testicles? Ugh! As to the Tasmanian Devil? I wish I did have one for a pet, but as recently reported in the Huffington Post, http://huff.to/f3zxSd the poor little things are suffering the ravaging effects of a disease that is bringing them to the edge of extinction. Better the scientists and conservation zoos look after them than me. And I do have a one star rating on Amazon… a woman bought my first book thinking it was an embroidery book despite the blurb and then gave ME a one star despite Her mistake. And yes, myself and 50 others wrote a Jane Austen style novel on Twitter which was mentioned by The Times (UK) no less.
Me in a nutshell!
Prue's latest book, A Thousand Glass Flowers, (a fantasy/paranormal/magical realism novel), is being released at the end of August for Kindle.
Two people… one an extraordinary young woman, the other an embittered immortal man. Both seeking concealed spells that could annihilate Life.
In a quest through a world where Others lace their way in and out of the lives of mortals, this is a story of legend, love, and clashing ideals. A story of murder, regret and revenge… a story that journeys across a world too hauntingly like our own.
A taster for you...
The tall gate blocked out the sunshine as Lalita tilted her head back to stare at it. They named it a door and yet it might as well have been an armoured portcullis. It was the entrance to a fortress, the gate beyond which no full-blooded male could proceed and which they named the Door of a Thousand Promises.
What promises? Promises of sex that an ordinary man might only dream of? Promises of untold wealth and comfort should an odalisque become known by the Sultan? Or promises of heavenly life in the hereafter because one had given up one’s freedom, one’s family and one’s life to serve the Court of the Sultan?
Or perhaps a thousand promises of a thousand terrible deaths should one enter uninvited.
Q&As
1. How long have you been writing?
All my life. It has been a creative outlet since I was little. All my life I have thought in words and text.
2. What/who inspired you to write?
No one person or book inspired me to write, it was something I had to do. Like an artist has to put down pencil marks or brushstrokes, so I needed to put down words.
3. Have you ever based characters on people you know, or based events on things that have happened to you?
Never on people I know. Characters often experience something I have experienced. As much as possible, I try and experience what my characters do in order to establish veracity, as long as it’s within the law of course!
4. Do you have any other books published?
I do. They are all listed on the links below.
5. Do you have plans for any further books?
Indeed. I am writing a historical fiction based on an alternative view of Guy of Gisborne and entitled Gisborne. And I have a 70,000 word fantasy WIP which takes the stories of the previous generation to the next generation.
6. What is your favourite book and why?
It’s a series. Dorothy Dunnett’s House of Niccolo (a historical fiction) for its depth, its breadth, its shocks at every turn. It’s what I’d take to a desert island.
7. What piece of advice would you give to a new writer?
Write and read and never stop. Oh, and never take no for an answer.
Thanks so much Mandy. It’s been wonderful to be a part of your blog.
Links to Prue:
That's me, parking my bike in the local field and jumping for joy... Okay, maybe not, but it should be me. First off, I won a competition, yay! Kindle Users Forum are approaching their first anniversary, and asked for a couple of lines from users as to why we love them. I decided to be cheeky and do a little poem, and I won! I had a choice of book vouchers, cold, hard cash, or a week's free advertising - and as it's early days for my book, I decided it had to be the advertising. So from 12 noon today for one week, my book gets displayed on the top-right hand corner on their forums (on rotation with a couple of others). I'll post back to let you know if it's effective or not.
Have a think about the last book you read, or the book you're reading now. Of the bazillion books in circulation, what made you pick that particular one? 