Casey Lea is a mother and daughter
writing team with a strong interest in science fantasy. The Casey Lea
partnership began in 1990, with the arrival of Emma Casey Frost,
first daughter of Shelley Lea and Gary. Although Emma was a very
precocious child, it took another fifteen years before she began
working with her mother.
Shelley Lea (pronounced ‘lee’) was
born on a snowy June day, near the bottom of the world, in
Invercargill, New Zealand. Reluctant to supply a date of birth, she
would rather claim several decades of maturity, but only a few days
of actual wisdom. Those decades have covered a range of jobs, a
couple of degrees (including English Lit), one great husband, plenty
of travel, two gorgeous daughters, several scatty cats and one
charmingly dumb dog. They’ve also included an on-going struggle to
put pen to paper in any spare second. This has led to some dire
poetry, some eyebrow raising children’s stories and finally to
something resembling a novel. This languished in a sadly disjointed
and hand written form until…
Emma Casey inherited her mother’s
love of books and the ability to string two sentences together
(sometimes three). She proved to be the missing link in trying to
actually finish a manuscript. Younger, savvier and able to turn on a
computer without causing it to explode, she picked up the book and
ran with it. Emma is also studying graphic design and happily
provides Casey Lea’s cover artwork.
Starting
out
as
an
author
- five
things
you
should
know…
Casey
Lea
- First and foremost, no matter how much you love writing, it will be hard. Not just hard work, but emotionally challenging. When you create something it’s very difficult to accept criticism. An author is invested in every word and can be too close to their writing to recognise flaws, or feel so devastated by any dislike that their confidence is shaken. You need to be tougher than goats’ knees to survive.
- You also need to be open minded. The secret to making the grade is rewriting, which means your work isn’t perfect. Ever. You need to pursue its faults and doing that fully involves other people. Cultivate insightful beta readers. Find a content editor who offers big-picture advice that helps you hone your story. Join writers’ groups and tell the authors involved to bring it. Your novel needs to be forged, which takes fire and you might get a little burnt in the process, but it’s worth it.
- Learn by writing, but also by studying your craft. Read every ‘how to’ book you can. Work from basics like the three act structure, inciting incidents, and point of view, to reach imagery, themes, micro tension, knowledge gaps and any other theories that resonate with you. Concentrate on your weaknesses and strive to improve them. Use this research to create a file for future reference that highlights the points you found most useful.
- Also start a ‘bible’, to keep track of all the decisions you make in your writing. This is obviously vital in genres such as science-fiction and fantasy, where every facet of your world, comes from your imagination. However, it’s also essential for any story, because you choose specific details from multiple possibilities. It’s easy to forget those decisions, especially as the words add up, and avoiding continuity errors is important. Readers want to be immersed in your story, which means it has to be plausible. The most fantastical story can be realistic as long as it’s consistent. It’s vital to be accurate and remain true to the laws of your world.
- The internet is your friend and self-publishing can be your best friend, with one proviso. To be successful your book should be of a publishable standard. A rejection slip doesn’t always mean it isn’t, because good stories can slip through the publishing net. A poor query letter, or weak pitch will send your unread manuscript straight to the slush pile. Trying too hard to be cutesy or original can achieve the same thing. An unknown author with a story longer than 90,000 words, or a series, is also likely to fail.
However,
the majority of manuscripts are rejected because the writing falls
below a certain standard.
So…
give your work its best shot. Study writing, practice writing and
expose yourself to criticism. Rewrite relentlessly. Then, when your
novel is as good as you can make it, try self-publishing as an
e-book. If you’re lucky you’ll get reviews, which will tell you
more than any rejection letter ever will. Don’t take every one to
heart, but if you see trends, be prepared to follow advice.
If
you’re really lucky you’ll sell steadily… and then it’s time
to get promoting.
Welcome
to the learning curve of being an author.
Author Links:
Book Genre: Science
Fiction/Romance
Publisher: Pegasus
Press
Release Date: IceFlight
– December 8th, 2013. Frostbite – TBA (March
2014)
Buy Link(s): IceFlight
-
http://www.amazon.com/IceFlight-The-Iron-Altar-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B008DO6Q5S
Frostbite - TBA
Book Description:
The Iron Altar trilogy –
The Iron Altar trilogy follows the paths of two women, one young and
the other ancient beyond belief. Both are destined to die on the same
altar.
One death would precipitate mass murder
and destroy billions. The other sacrifice would claim only two lives
– the martyr and the monster who made the Iron Altar.
Amber Grace will be that martyr, but
only if she reaches the altar first. And only if she still thinks we
are worth dying for…
IceFlight –
Darsey Ice never thought her first trip past Jupiter would claim the
lives of her crew. But then she hadn’t expected to become the first
person to make contact with aliens either. Kidnapped, enslaved and
lost on the Outer Rim of a mighty civilization light-years from
Earth, the only person she can turn to is her enigmatic new owner.
A dishonored outcast, he is just as
alone as Darsey. Exiled by his people and struggling to survive, the
last thing he wants is a rebellious primitive as a slave. She
complicates his efforts to hide a dangerous secret and to complete a
quest that is likely to claim both their lives.
Frostbite – When
the ice comes for you… When it has already taken your friends…
What do you do?
Amber Grace has spent countless lives
preparing for battle, but has finally run out of time. She is mortal
now and can only hope that her enemy is close, that when the monster
comes to devour them all, she will be ready.
All Amber has to do is hide and wait,
keeping herself safe so she will be there to save everyone when death
comes for them. But one thing the Universe never guarantees is
safety.
Forced from hiding and trapped on the
Rim with the criminal scum of every interstellar species, Amber finds
herself truly living in a way she hasn’t for millennia. Suddenly
her choices are more than equations and the potential of billions
killed must be balanced against protecting her friends.
Amber finally dares to embrace her last
life, but a single mistake costs everything she has won.
Now the ice is coming… and it’s not
alone.
Excerpts:
IceFlight -
In
front
of
them
a massive
waterfall
fell
through
the
pyramid,
a
silver
curtain
blocking
their
path.
It filled
the
entire
landing and
Darsey
tried to
stop
and
stare,
but
the
floor
wouldn’t
let
her.
Instead
it
kept flowing
forward and
carried
her
with
it.
She
tried
to
walk
backwards,
but the strange cushion of
air accelerated to
waft
her
faster,
straight at the
monstrous waterfall.
"Wing,"
she squeaked and her fingers found her companion's hand. She squeezed
tighter than she intended, but Nightwing didn't flinch.
"It's
kay. See."
Darsey
stared unblinking at the silent curtain of water she was rushing
toward. They
hurtled
into
it
and
she
grabbed
Wing’s
arm with her
other hand, but the flow
parted
ahead
of
them.
A
v-shaped
gap
appeared
above the
path,
looking like
the ripple
left by a speedboat. She had to duck her head against his shoulder to
fit, but it worked.
Wing
put his arm around Darsey while they slowed to a sedate drift under
the weight of a ten story waterfall. Silver boiled above them and the
light grew dim. The path under their feet began to glow blue and when
she glanced up at the kres he looked haggard. He also looked starkly
alien and she suddenly realized how familiar his strange features had
become to her. She’d started to see him as just another person, but
that didn’t mean he was human. Not even close.
Darsey
looked away with a shudder and her spasm seemed to trigger a
nightmare. The bridge under them pulsed red while a siren sounded and
then the silent waterfall began to roar. She looked up just as the
shield protecting them vanished.
The
water fell and Darsey fell with it. The weight of a giant fist
pounded her while she plummeted down into darkness and the noise was
so overwhelming it seemed as solid as the water. She could hardly
feel Wing’s fingers clamped tight round her wrist, but she knew
they must be there because she was still alive. His com field was the
only thing keeping her that way and she prayed he wouldn’t let go.
Not that it really mattered, because the impact when they finally hit
the bottom was going to be brutal. His shield would be overloaded and
they would both die anyway.
Frostbite
-
Zak broke off when his
words were lost in a thud and a grunt. Misty ducked her head
Unfortunately,
Zak arched hard enough to throw Ace off and they came to their feet
together. Two swords appeared and they attacked each other instantly.
Their blades clashed repeatedly, without pause or hesitation.
Misty
stopped and stared. She had never seen such a fight. Every blow was
countered and each riposte was blocked. It was like watching someone
fence with a mirror. There were no advances and no retreats. The
fighters stood toe-to-toe, perfectly matched. The pace increased,
until their swords were a blur, but still no
one broke through with a blade.
Zak
decompressed a second sword and slashed at Ace recklessly, driving
him toward the cliff. The clash of blades was constant as the Beserk
pushed forward. Misty took half a step toward them, but Ace
spun around Zak, away from the drop. He swung his sword over his
shoulders to guard his back and caught the blades trying to cut him
down from behind. He twisted his arms while crouching, to turn and
sweep one of the weapons from Zak’s hand.
Ace
leapt high,
while
Zak jumped too. Their swords collided
and
they both swung a fist as well. Ace smashed his opponent in the
mouth, but a punch like an anvil glanced from
his chin
and he staggered. He fell to a knee, before
surging
upright to
back away and look for the Beserk. He attacked
as soon as he saw the
stranger -
still on his
back in the dirt.
Zak
sprang to his feet
just
in
time
to
counter
the
blow, then
took an unsteady step and Ace
paused too, breathing
heavily despite com support. The stranger used the back of his hand
to wipe blood from his lips and frowned when he saw Ace
wiping his own bloody mouth.
“Get
out of my head, snot balls.”
“Glad
to,”
Ace
sneered.
“I don't usually play in garbage.”
Zak
sprang
forward,
but this time he put his full weight behind his
swing. The wild blow was a risk, but Ace
was too surprised to take advantage of it. He belatedly tried to
block Zak’s sword, but its momentum was too great. Both swords flew
through the air and Misty jumped aside when they clattered past. Ace
reached to his wrist for another blade, but was too slow. This time
Zak tackled him and they went down together. They grappled with each
other and rolled across the plateau toward the cliff.
Thank you for hosting today:)
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting us, we hope anyone who picks up the books enjoys them! :)
ReplyDeleteI wouldnt "Want' to die on the altar but to save the world I would do it especially to save my kids
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