The Blog Tour: Part Two

Today: An interview with Claudia Hall Christian, author of The Fey
http://alexthefey.com/blog-tour/

If you’ve been following the blog tour around, you’ve probably already seen some interviews posted. Hang in there for this one; there’s different stuff, I promise!


A blog tour is a truly wonderful idea! In all my wanderings round the internets I have yet to hear of such a thing. There’s been marketing, of course, but not like this. How has the blog tour been going?

It’s been an amazing experience, Mindy. Every blog has such a different audience and feel. I’ve had a great time answering questions, creating audio segments and sharing The Fey with people.



Great! I am very glad to hear that it’s been a good experience overall. Now, as I was reading The Fey I wondered what gave you the idea for the novel? Was there any particular kernel of an idea? A trigger that set the whole thing off?

In the middle of a transition in my life, I had a dream that Rebecca Hargreaves sat on the side of my bed and told me about her family. Night after night, she returned to tell me more. I couldn’t sleep until I started writing it all down. That’s how the first edition of The Fey came to be.



So you were a woman in transition something like your character. No wonder that part of it came through so genuinely. Now here’s a tough question: Once the book had been published, is there anything you wished you had done differently?

I wouldn’t change a thing. I’ve enjoyed working with Create Space and truly believe in the print on demand model of publishing.



I’d like to get into the publishing a little bit more, but first, when did you consider writing for a career? Do you consider it a career?

I had always planned to become a writer, then life intervened. I’ve lived a long and circuitous life to finally wind up with my original career goal. I’m grateful to be able to consider writing my career now.



Many authors say that! I guess you gotta love the written word from the get go. That gets us down to nuts and bolts kind of stuff. What is your favorite part of the writing process?

Slaving over a manuscript. I love the tiny details—Scooby Doo band-aids, burnt coffee—that make fiction feel real. These details are often added days or weeks after the manuscript is completed.



And, of course, what is your least favorite part?

Slaving over a manuscript. There are moments when I’m sure I simply cannot work the same words any more. Yet, everything needs more copy editing. I usually set the work aside and come back to it in a week or more.



LOL! I’m with you there! There’s only so many times you can re-read the same thing without it all becoming a blur. Tell us about your writing career to date; have you written anything professionally other than The Fey, The Denver Cereal, and the current novel in progress?

I wrote self-help articles and columns for over ten years. Originally I wrote for a small local paper, then on the internet, I wrote for the Open Grove. Outside of some flash fiction and short stories, The Fey is my first venture into long form fiction. Denver Cereal is my first serial fiction.



That’s a wide variety of activities and experiences. There are many experiences you need to pull this whole thing off, and I’m curious, since this is your first published novel, what made you decide to put out your work under the Creative Commons license?

I believe that everything that’s been said, written, drawn, or sung has been sung before. We are stand on the shoulders of the true masters. Thus if I create a work of fiction or non-fiction, I’d be remiss not to allow someone else to take it to create something else. I’d also be quite arrogant to say “I created this” when truly I was inspired by so many, many things that all came together in this creation.



Well said. Please do tell us more about your journey to getting published.

Like a lot of authors, I spent a great deal of time, and money, sending out query letters to agents and publishers. I was lucky enough to get some great feedback and interest from a few agents.

At the same time that I was querying people, I heard from friends in the publishing industry that things were changing. Publishers weren’t purchasing novels. Imprints were closing. Creative directors were getting laid off. Moreover, authors were no longer receiving the marketing, editing, even book polishing services that they used to receive.

All the while, I was writing and posting Denver Cereal a chapter a week. Denver Cereal took off almost immediately. It has maintained a loyal crowd of people.

Last November, I found myself looking at three factors: I was having great success with Denver Cereal; the publishing industry was falling apart at the seams; and I heard from my publishing mentor that The Fey was fabulous. After a long conversation with my mentor, and my business partners, we decided to form our own publishing company, Cook Street Publishing.

The benefit to forming our own company over ‘self publishing’ is that publishing companies have a lock on distribution channels. Cook Street Publishing is able to sell books via all of the distribution channels including brick and mortar bookstores.

From there we just put the pieces together, I knew a graphic designer who had specialized in packaging. He designed covers for The Fey, Learning to Stand, and Who I Am. I have worked as a typesetter. I was able to put together the book block. We hired a copy editor who went through the copy.

We chose to print on demand mostly because I knew authors with cases of books in their dining rooms. This way, the book is printed when it’s sold. Given that the average book sells only 50 copies, The Fey and Denver Cereal are doing quite well so far.

At this point, the only thing a traditional publisher could offer me is status. Frankly, I only care about writing quality stories about interesting characters. As long as my dog likes me, I think I have all the status I need.



Yep, we’re all good as long as our dogs love us. Now on to a few questions about you personally. Do you have any particular plan for your writing career? You know: “In five years I’d like to be [fill in the blank].

In five years time, we’ll be talking about book four (yet unnamed) of the Alex the Fey thriller series. Denver Cereal will continue to evolve and grow. And, I would guess, there will be other fiction projects available for people to read and enjoy.



What sorts of genres do you like to read? Do you have a favorite book or author?

I love Charles Dickens, the great serial fiction author, and admire James Joyce’s diligence to his own stories and text. I also love intelligent mysteries and thrillers. My favorite popular author is James Lee Burke. I find Mark Twain’s life story to be very inspirational to me.

I’ve read books like people eat chocolates—whole without chewing. I’ve read a lot of every genre.

Since I’ve been working on the Alex the Fey thriller series and Denver Cereal, I find it harder to read. I tend to constantly edit in my head. I’ve heard that this is common among authors. It’s a shame because there are so many amazing books out there in the world.



I’m with you there, copy editing changes you for good! I too find it difficult to read; a book has to be really good to keep my interest. More personal stuff: Do you have any hobbies?

I’ve knitted most of my adult life. I love to knit sweaters and shawls. Currently, I’m trying to learn how to knit a hat.

I also have large vegetable and flower gardens. I love the process of planting a seed and watching the plant grow, flower, and fruit.

I’m also a big physical fitness buff. I really like working out and have recently started training for a half marathon. Running is a big deal for me because I love lifting weights.



Many kudos to you for the marathon. I know you’re a beekeeper, and it’s obviously a large part of your life as you’ve made no secret of it in your posts on plurk.com (http://www.plurk.com/ClaudiaHallChristian) and you even found a way to put it into The Fey. How did you get started? How long have you been doing it? Do you consider beekeeping to be a hobby?

I’ve always been fascinated with bees. They are amazing creatures that have held my mind and imagination since I was a little girl. I shared my fascination with bees with my husband after reading The Secret Life of Bees. He happened to have a friend who was selling a few hives and we started keeping them. I’ve been keeping them for about six years. We’re called “Backyard Beekeepers”.


Well, that wraps it up, Claudia. Thank you for giving so much of your time and energy. See you around the internets!


Okay folks, don’t forget to tune in tomorrow for the last bit of The Blog Tour here on the Eclectic Collection: a bit of unpublished back story called “Pinky Swear.” Since many of the other blog hosts are giving away copies, I elected to have Claudia donate my copy to Operation Shoebox (http://www.operationshoebox.com/) for active duty soldiers. But be sure to keep checking on The Blog Tour because there might be others giving away goodies!

Now, for those of you haven’t read the book but you’re interested, I think that you’re safe reading this small bit of back story as there’s not much in the way of spoilers.

Don't forget, use the discount code DDE4VR4H and get your copy of the book at https://www.createspace.com/3369215

See you tomorrow!