BLURB
Every
myth has a beginning.
After
escaping the destruction of her home planet, Lanyr, with the help of the
mysterious Solaris, Rynah must put her faith in an ancient legend. Never one to
believe in stories and legends, she is forced to follow the ancient tales of
her people: tales that also seem to predict her current situa-tion.
Forced
to unite with four unlikely heroes from an unknown planet (the philosopher, the
warrior, the lover, the inventor) in order to save the Lanyran people, Rynah
and Solaris embark on an ad-venture that will shatter everything Rynah once
believed.
EXCERPT
Marlow
warned this day would come. The day when Lanyr, my home, would cease to exist,
destroyed by a man who thought only of the power he could acquire. Before he
died, Marlow made me promise to look after his granddaughter, Rynah—to guide
her.
“She
is the key,” he said, “the key to stopping a most dangerous man.”
My
name is Solaris. I am a ship, a vessel some consider archaic, but I have a
secret—a purpose.
INTERVIEW
What inspired you to write this
book?
I had
been wanting to write a good space adventure for some time, and I love space
odysseys, so I decided to start thinking about how I would accomplish such a
feat. I wanted a computer intelligence in the story, every science fiction book
needs one, but I wanted mine to have a bit of an attitude. But, mostly, I
wanted to write a story that we can all relate to.
The
story of Solaris had been brewing in my mind long before I ever wrote the first
word, and long before I realized that I wanted to be a writer. While still in
middle school I had gotten the idea of crystals that possess some kind of super
power and aliens that are searching for them. Over the years, bits and pieces
of the story came to me, but it wasn’t until two years ago that those pieces
started making sense and I outlined the first book.
Can you give us an interesting
fact about your book that isn't in the blurb?
One
interesting bit of trivia, that isn’t in this book, and might not be mentioned
in the others, just alluded to, is that Rynah’s grandfather had actually
visited Earth. He didn’t know it at the time and did not stay long, but in his
search for the crystals, he had landed on our little planet.
How did you choose your title?
I
love science fiction, but I really love a good adventure story and wanted to
write a story that took place in outer space. While trying to figure out how I
could do that, I decided to sit outside one night and star gaze, which happens
to be a favorite pastime of mine. The name Solaris popped into my head, and I
thought that it would be a good name of a character. I did some research on it and
learned that it means “of the sun” and I decided that I could work that into a
story.
After
that, I outlined the character of Solaris and then made each title of the series
match the overall theme of the individual book and her reaction to it. So the
title Solaris Seethes is perfect
because her planet has just been destroyed, and she is very angry about it.
Tell us about the cover and how
it came to be.
The
cover underwent several changes, which influenced that cover for this book. I
found someone on Fiverr who did artistic font work and asked her to show me
what the word Solaris would look like. She did and I loved it so much that I
knew I wanted to use it on the cover of all of the books in the series. For a
small fee, she rendered the image files and sent them to me.
Then,
I had hired one artist to help me with the concept and background of the cover
and his work was good, but there seemed to be something missing. I hung onto
the artwork for a while, trying to decide what it needed.
Still
unable to figure out what the cover lacked, I decided to contact another artist
friend of mine. He had done a some covers for me for some of my other books.
When he sent me his artwork—the exploding planet of the final cover for book
one—I knew he had nailed it, but there was still one thing about it that needed
changing. His original idea had an image of Rynah on there, but I found it
distracting and asked if we could change it to that of a crystal, since that is
what the story focuses on. He did and I knew I had found the right cover for my
book.
After
I had gotten what I needed for Solaris
Seethes, I had asked the same artist if he would do the covers for the rest
of the series and he did, using only my rough drafts of the novels as a guide.
I believe he understood my books, and the overall theme of the series; and I
like the classic, or old-school look, that he gave them.
Did you self-publish or publish
traditionally and why?
I
self-published. I had wanted to publish traditionally, and had tried with other
novels, including this one, but was rejected each time. My mother had told me
about Createspace and Amazon publishing when I was working on my very first
novel Legends Lost: Amborese and I
chose to publish it myself. I made a lot of mistakes with it in the writing quality
and in the publishing part, but from those mistakes, I learned what I needed to
make Solaris shine.
For
the past two years, while writing my Solaris series, I studied how to improve
my writing, but I also learned proper book formatting for print and ebook.
Though, I was also submitting Solaris to various publishers, but no one wanted
to take a chance on it. Some had said that it was an interesting concept, but
not what they were looking for. This left me with only one option if I wanted
to see it published: publishing it myself.
So, I
took what I had learned about proper book formatting for both print and
digital, hired an illustrator to do the cover artwork, purchased ISBNs for the
various formats, registered for an LCCN and released Solaris Seethes in December of 2014.
One
of the advantages of self-publishing is that I decide when my books are
released and my readers do not have to wait a year or two for the next one.
They may have to wait a couple of months, but before the year is out, they will
have the entire series.
What do you consider the most
important part of a good story?
Relatable
characters. Every book needs a good storyline, but the reader also needs to be
able to relate to the main character, or characters. If you can’t identify with
the characters in a novel, you’re not going to care about them, their
tribulations, or their victories.
What is your writing process?
A
jumbled mess. My writing process usually starts with me just writing little
bits and pieces of a story, usually a short scene or piece of dialogue, on
paper, napkins, envelopes—anything I can find to write on. Then it gets thrown
into a box and remains there until I start going through the pieces and put
them in outline form in a notebook. After that, I edit my outline constantly.
I’ll make changes to it even while writing the rough draft of my novels.
My
stories always come to me as small scenes that are out of sequence and
incoherent. It isn’t until I start writing them down that I figure out how they
fit together, and form a story around them.
How long have you been writing?
For
about 15 years off and on. But I’ve only been writing full-time and as a
published author, for about four.
How did you get started writing?
I
started writing short stories while in grade school and kept the habit up all
the way through college. Most of the stories I wrote as a child have been lost,
or thrown into the trash. But that is where it all began. Never thought that I
would make a career out of it.
What part of the writing process
is the hardest for you?
Getting
started and then keeping the momentum going once I’ve begun. Sometimes I will
have a good start on writing a chapter, but then get sidetracked. Staying
focused can be difficult because I have so many bits and pieces of my story
going through my head all at the same time, which forces me to focus on one
while hoping I don’t forget to write down the others.
What tips can you give on how to
get through writers block?
Keep
writing. One of the worst things you can do when you have writer’s block is to
stop writing. The only way to cure it is to write anything that comes into your
head; it doesn’t even need to relate to what you are currently working on. You
may even get a new book out of it. That’s how I got the idea for Mellow
Summers. I was experiencing writer’s block and decided to write down the first
thing that entered my head in an effort to cure it, and the idea of a woman
turned mature sleuth who is plagued by a ghost ended up on paper.
So if
you are experiencing writer’s block, just spend five minutes writing down
anything that enters your head.
What kind of music do you like to
listen to while you write?
Instrumental
music. I have a playlist on Youtube of music by Audiomachine, Two Steps from
Hell, and other musicians like them. I can’t listen to music with actual lyrics
because then I will spend all of my time singing along. Instrumental music,
seems to help me focus.
Read anything good lately?
I
just finished reading a book called The
Labyrinth by Joni Mayhan. It’s pretty good and I enjoyed it. It’s a nice
short, mystery, thriller type book geared towards young adults. Because I am so
busy working on my own novels, I don’t have a lot of time to read anything that
is really long, but this was only about 130 pages, so I was able to get through
it in a few of hours. It was very
straight forward read, with a few twists, and I found myself unable to put it
down.
What do you like to do when
you're not writing?
Gardening.
I like to be outside, but if it’s too cold, then I’ll curl up with a good book,
or catch up on some of my favorite TV shows on Netflix. Sometimes I will bake
something. The only problem with that is I then end up eating it all.
What advice would you give an
author just starting out?
Get
your book written first. Then edit, edit, edit, until it is as close to perfect
as you can make it. Worry about the publishing process after your books is
written.
Once
you have finished your book, try submitting it to some publishers. You might
get lucky and get picked up, but if you don’t, then publish it yourself. Make
sure you hire a good cover designer and formatter.
There
are a lot of hurdles that authors need to cross, especially if they are just
starting out. But even seasoned ones run into obstacles. All you ca do is keep
going forward and keep trying. Giving up is the surest way to failure. Also,
keep in mind that success does not happen overnight. It is more of a long term
process.
Have you had anything else
published?
Yes.
I have published other series: Legends Lost, the Dystopia Trilogy, and the
Mellow Summers Series. Legends Lost is a young adult fantasy. Dystopia is a
dystopian series, as it name suggests. Mellow Summers I think people will like.
It’s a light-hearted, short, paranormal mystery, that is more comedy than horror.
I
have also published a few children’s books, most notably, Mr. Chili.
What's your next project?
I’m
not sure at this point. I am still finishing up my Solaris Series and Solaris Seeks will be released this
coming spring. The final books in my Solaris series should keep me busy for the
rest of this year.
After
Solaris, I am not certain what I will write. Maybe I will try my hand at a
paranormal romance. I know that a lot of paranormal romances have been released
after the success of Twilight, so, if
I do write one, it will probably be more of an adventure story and less of a
romance. Romance isn’t my forte, but it would be fun to try it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ms.
McNulty began writing short stories at an early age. That passion continued
through college until she published her first book: Legends Lost: Amborese
under the pen name of Nova Rose. Since then, she has gone on to publish a
mystery series, children’s books, and even a dystopian series.
Recently,
her grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, causing her to visit her
grandparents and record her grandfather’s memoirs before they become lost. The
final result is Grandpa’s Stories: The 20th Century as My Grandfather Lived It.
She did this to preserve her family history before it becomes lost.
Ms.
McNulty currently lives in West Virginia, where she enjoys hiking, being
outside, crocheting, or simply sitting around and doing nothing. She continues
writing and is busy working on the next book in her Solaris Series.
Amazon
author page: http://www.amazon.com/Janet-McNulty/e/B006SMJXFW
Facebook
fan page: https://www.facebook.com/janetmcnultyauthor
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/JMRUL
Website:
www.mcnultyjanet.com
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