Guy Erma & the Son of Empire by Sally Ann Melia Book Tour and Giveaway

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Book Synopsis:

The story starts with a boy:
"I don't want to go, mum."
"You must..."
How long can a mother regret the last words to her son?

This story is a space opera adventure and a kidnap thriller… A young prince is kidnapped, a galactic Empire in peril for the Prince has fallen into the hands of the ruthless yet charismatic Chart Segat, a populist politician, he is also head of the crack space warriors: the Dome Elite.

Teodor’s mother, Regent Sayginn of Freyne 2 will use every resource at her disposal: military might, security surveillance, battle cyborgs and insider intelligence to find her son. She will call on the Valvanchi, the telepathic shape shifting aliens to free him … The only question is can they get to the Prince in time?
Meanwhile in the shadow of the Dome, living a life of desperate poverty is another boy: 13-year-old Guy Erma. His only dream is to join the Dome Elite, and the only way he can do that is by ‘doing whatever Chart Segat says. ’ Whatever he says!'

A tightly plotted thriller, Guy Erma and the Son of Empire is a complex space opera with a cracking science fiction storyline, told with verve and pace.

The book will delight those who love • Science Fiction • Space Operas • Star Wars style Adventures • Galactic Empire stories • Young Adult Science Fiction • Young Adult Space Opera • Young Adult Thrillers • Young Adult Action Adventure 

Author's Bio:

The author was born in Wallasey, England, in 1964, and moved to the South of France when she was eleven. She spent her teenage years living in the cosmopolitan city state of Monaco and became immersed in its many languages and cultures. An English girl in a French school, for three hours each week she would sit at the back of the class as her colleagues learnt English. To pass the time, she wrote stories. This led to a lifetime of writing novels, scripts, stories and articles.

In her working life, Sally writes marketing communications and manages large international websites.

In 2010, Sally joined the Hogs Back Writers, a club located on the outskirts of Guildford, and she set about turning an old manuscript into this novel: Guy Erma and the Son of Empire. Sally currently lives in Farnham, and she is married with two children.

Connect with Sally:  Website  ~  Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Pinterest

Where to buy the book:

Amazon

Guest Post;

3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too!  would like to thank author Sally Ann Melia for sharing her thoughts with us today.

It was supposed to be a bit like Speed Dating. Speed Dating with Agents. I have never been Speed Dating, so I have no idea what that must be like. I have always had a feeling I would be terrible at it. My own elevator pitch is: I have a job, I like a laugh, I'm short (5 foot 1). I never tell anyone I write on a first meeting. I never tell anyone I write SF, not unless I have to.

Except of course yesterday. Yesterday I attended The Writers and Artists' event: How to Hook an Agent.  Yesterday I told quite a lot of people that I wrote SF. Every time, I said it my heart was in my mouth. Who was I talking to? Well I met three fantasy writers and three YA writers  (Alexia had written a dystopia - so something akin to SF), were they nervous too? Nobody seemed so, beyond the obvious: My God, this is something new. With people I don't know. In a place I have never been to before. (Except Mandy who had been to another W&A event called : How to self-publish.)

The point of the course was to learn how to pitch a novel, and then after lunch to actually pitch one's novel. So yes, yesterday I pitched my novel and I fluffed it. Hence this blog, how not to pitch your novel.

OK before I go into the details, a quick note about the venue, in a nutshell it was 19 Grimmauld Place. Only the Order of the Phoenix had moved out and it had had a fantastic makeover. All floor to ceiling bookcases and Victorian handmade furniture. Well obviously not in the conservatory where we had lunch, that was bog-standard conference furniture, but the workshops. Wow, it reminded me of when I worked at Penguin books, in the beginning when we were based in South Ken. It was another rambling old building, totally unsuited for modern communications and with insufficient loos, but every nook and cranny filled with books. Heaven.
(Aside: No points for originality here. Bloomsbury publish JK, so obviously as a curtsey from one to the other, their HQ features in her novels. Love it!)

So two seminars on How to hook an Agent, and after lunch. (The Pinot Grigio was very palatable). the pitch.
I fluffed it. No, I seriously fluffed it.
OK, we'll get back to the pitch later, quick note about the workshops. They were excellent.

Jenny Savill gave us lots to think about under the heading : Is your mss ready? I don't know how the others felt, but when she got to bullet point six I was ready to put on my coat and dash home for another rewrite.

Madeleine Milburn challenged us to write an elevator pitch for our novel. We had five minutes to do it. If there was ever a challenge along the lines -  so you think you can write? I came out in a cold sweat, but somehow dredged up sixty words. Too many. I should have stopped at thirty, ho-hum.. But what a fantastic buzz.

She also spoke honestly about the sheer volume of manuscripts they receive. Made worse by the fact that so many manuscripts are sent without proper research, so agents receive novels they could never represent or sell. More about this later...

Lucy Luck spoke at length about the importance of the title. If nothing else, she said, you will write your book title in the email heading when you submit your novel. And I have to want to click and open that email.... Great insight!

Jo Unwin provided an informative overview of how books were sold and the difference between commercial and literary agencies, and also the new hybrids, commercial literary publishing, as well as lots of interesting facts on publishing in foreign languages and distribution overseas. The voice from inside the industry, fascinating.

Yes, so the Pitch. The pitch that I fluffed. No I mean it, I really fluffed it.
Sorry, before we get onto that. I must mention James and his team who organised the event. I don't know if they always work on Saturdays. I do hope they get a day off in lieu, but I did not like to ask. James and his team made us all feel incredibly welcome, and kept us all so well fed and watered. It was like home away from home. The chocolate cake was gorgeous, too.
Just what you need, when you have just fluffed your pitch.

OK, so finally. The pitch. The pitch I made to hook an agent.
Did I mention I fluffed it?
Let's not dwell on the fact that the agent I was pitching did not represent SF authors. 
Ho-hum. Well given the previous workshops, given that I had actually done my research, there was no point trying to deny this.
I opened by saying: "I know your list does not include any SF."
She agreed. That was how it started.

The thing that upset me the most was I walked in and I could not think of one thing to say. I showed her my cover letter, but that was it. She read the synopsis. I sat quietly. I oozed lack of confidence, and spoke about rewrites and copy-editing. And while its kind of romantic to think about a self-deprecating author, it would have been nice if I could have said:

"You know what this is a great story and people are going to love it."

"It's a thrilling SF adventure for boys. Yes, at times it will scare you rigid, but there's also some great laughs along the way. It is the story of two boys. How from unlikely beginnings, they meet, become friends, triumph over evil and set off on new adventures together. Friends forever. That's always the best kind of story, isn't it?"

That's what I should have said.

Oh well, maybe next time.

#getpublished @Writers_Artists @Sally_Ann_Melia

About Sally Ann Melia:
Sally Ann Melia is life-long Science Fiction fan. She saw Star Wars as a child and has loved Space Opera fiction and tales of huge Galactic Empires ever since; in particular, Frank Herbert’s Dune series and Iain M. Banks Culture. She lives in Farnham, Surrey with husband David, and has two children and three gerbils.

In 2014, she published a young adult science fiction adventure : Guy Erma and the Son of Empire. The book has been received with over 50, 4 & 5 star reviews on Amazon.

This year look out for the new three-part serialisation of Guy Erma and the Son of Empire: Kidnap (17/5/15); Hunter (30/5/15); Exile (14/6/15). Followed by a new book of the artwork created for the series: The Artwork of Guy Erma and the Son of Empire.

The sequel: Guy Erma and the Araneidae Dome is due to be published in November 2015.

Book Trailer:









Prizes: ​ Win one of 10 copies of Guy Erma & The Son of Empire. One winner will also get a $50 Amazon Gift Card (Open internationally) Ends April 25



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