Fanni S Interview

First off, tell us a little bit about you

My name is Fanni (with an “i” not with a “y,” strange, I know, but that’s how it is.) I’m in my late twenties and I live in France, near Paris. I’m Hungarian but nowadays I mostly write in English. My hobbies are travelling, reading, writing and learning languages. I love board games, series and cute crazy stuff. I teach English from kindergarten to middle school.

Tell us about your books/What genre do you consider your books?

I like stories where reality and imagination intermingle, that’s why my favourite genres are urban fantasy, magical realism and cyberpunk. Even when I write realist fiction, I try to make the story “magical” either with the atmosphere or with the story telling. 

I have (too) many WIPs both in Hungarian and in English, but I think I’ll concentrate on the English ones. I hope one day I’ll be able to finish most of them.

The ones I’m most intrigued by are “Glasgow, my love,” which is a multiple-ended love story, exploring various possible endings of a coffee house meeting and “Dreamless” which is an alternative history / Victorian novel where imagination is banned and dreamers are hunted down. You can get to know more about my novels by checking out their Pinterest boards. (https://uk.pinterest.com/mspumpkinhime/) 

When did you start writing? 

Oh, I started writing way back. My first projects were Sailor Moon fanzines and Knight Rider fan fiction in primary school. Then as adolescence hit I wrote love-hate poems about my crushes. Around the end of high school I started writing stuff which was not completely embarrassing. I started writing in English in 2013 while I was spending my Erasmus semester in London.

Why do you write?

I love making up worlds and I’m also awfully curious about the life of others. When I was in middle school I thought I wanted to be an artist, but I wasn’t skilled enough to draw the things I saw in my head and I wasn’t patient enough to try to learn it. In the end, I found out that I can also draw pictures with words and I’m much better at that.

What would be your choice for a superpower?

I’d like to be able to stop time, so that I can get a few more hours to write when the writing bug bites me. My biggest problem is that I’m very enthusiastic and I fall head over heels for story ideas and I work like a madwoman in the beginning. Then something interrupts my process or I have a lot of other things to do so I get out of the mood. Sadly, I’m a bit like Dory from Finding Nemo: Look, a new idea! 

I think stopping time could definitely help with this issue.

Who is your favorite author?

Neil Gaiman is my absolute favourite, he is also my role model. I also like Antal Szerb, a Hungarian writer from early 20th century. He has pretty good English translations, I warmly recommend him because he shaped me a lot as a writer.

What are you reading now? 

I’m reading J. M. Sullivan’s debut novel, Wanderland Chronicles and The Hollow City from Ransom Riggs. I also started re-reading an Antal Szerb novel because I found a good French translation. I want the summer holidays to start already so I have more time to read.

Who is your favorite character to write? 

I like characters who are easy-going and make me laugh, they’re very fun to write. Sometimes I create characters because I’m inspired my one of my celeb crushes and I want to spend some time with them at least on paper :D

Do you have a writing process? 

Not really. Ideally I just sit down and write but for that I need peace and like 0 distractions. Approaching deadlines do miracles to me and I can write 2000 words in 1-2 hours. I like these marathons because although the stories aren’t perfect, at least I got them done. Usually I return to them a few weeks / months later and make them into something good. If it’s a longer story, I like to create Pinterest boards and Spotify playlists because this way I can bottle up the mood of the story.

What advice would you give to an aspiring author?

I know it’s a cliché but really, please read. Read the classics and the big names but read also indie authors because, besides helping fellow writers, you can discover hidden gems.

If you feel writing is your way, don’t let others discourage you. Listen to the critiques. Take what you need and try to improve your writing. Everybody has to work on their writing even the big names. Some stories will be better, some stories will be worse. 

I know it’s difficult to face mean words and rejections, but if the other person is an a*hole it’s really their problem and not yours. If they’re nice and fair about your opinion, take notice and don’t give up. Maybe they weren’t just the right audience for your story.

Try to find writing buddies. Join a Nanowrimo community, sign up for Scribophile or any other writing group. Read and critique other people’s writing. The easiest and least painful way is to learn from other people’s mistakes.

What inspired you to pursue writing?

I’m a serial hobby-abandoner. I’ve done folk dancing, karate, modern dance, guitar, cross-stitch, etc., but I just fell out of love with them after a while. Writing stayed with me. I write because it makes me happy and I can get transform my troubles and pain into something (hopefully) beautiful. Of course, I also want to be rich, famous and beloved but if only my friends read me I’m fine with that too. 

What are your favorite TV shows/Movies to watch in between writing?

It’s been a very good year as for series. I follow Dr. Who, American Gods and the new Twin Peaks. I also love Parks and Recreations, Black Adder and Buffy. My newest love is Gravity Falls.

What are your current projects?

It’s really high time I finish my first novel, Londemonium. It’s an urban fantasy set in Hell and London. In Londemonium Hell is a multinational company, led by its eccentric CEO, Luke Seyton. The characters include: Gregor, a German programmer who descends to Hell to retrieve his abducted crush; Molly, a feisty Irish girl in look out for her heritage; Aiko, an English-Japanese girl who wants to make sense of her life and Raphael, an immigrant angel, who desperately wants to fit in.

I’ve recently come up with a summer project for myself, we’ll see how it works out. I’m planning to write a tween novel about an adventurous summer holiday. I imagine it as a blend between Gravity Falls and Doctor Who with a lot of humour and excitement. My idea is to use the cards from a Dixit (it’s a very good association-based board game with gorgeous art) expansion which would give the writing process some randomness and excitement. I can’t wait to start.

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to readers?

You can never be too nice. Be nice. I really, honestly believe in the power of politeness and kindness and I try to make the life of others easier. If more people did the same, we’d live on a much friendlier planet. I also believe that hard work and determination pays off. 

I want to bring people stories that show the lives of different people because knowledge and empathy usually walk hand in hand. I also want to write stories which give hope and consolation on hard days.

Quick Fire:

Cats or dogs? Owls! Okay if I have to choose between the two I’ll go with cats, but I love dogs too.

Coffee or tea? Usually coffee, but I also like herbal tea..

Favorite food? Sushi and Japanese food in general. Also cheese sticks. 

Vanilla or chocolate ice-cream? Vanilla.

What are 3 things you never leave home without? I have type 1 diabetes, so it’s essential to have my blood sugar checker, some sweet things in case of an emergency, and my phone + earbuds

Laptop or desktop? Laptop. I haven’t owned a desktop for many many years.

Who are 3 famous people you would want to hang out with? Neil Gaiman, Tom Hiddleston, Steven Moffat

TV or Movies? We don’t have a TV in our flat, although we do have Netflix. I like to go to the cinema every now and again for a change, but I prefer the cosiness of my bedroom.

Bio: Fanni Sütő is a writer in her mid-twenties. She writes in Hungarian and English; poems, flash fiction and countless unfinished novels. She tries to find the magical in the everyday and likes to spy on the secret life of cities and their inhabitants. 

Website: www.inkmapsandmacarons.com

Twitter: @Fanni_Pumpkin

Visit me on my AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE to borrow any of my books for FREE!

Best-selling author of Wake the Dead! On Amazon Kindle here!

All Artwork and covers of my works by William J. Kenney & Carlos Cara

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2014 unless otherwise noted.

Romance in Fantasy

Do you want to see romance in fantasy? More so than action? A fair bit of both? More one than the other? All solid questions that need to be answered, eh? At least for me.

Most folks that I speak with about fantasy novels don’t seem to place an import on romance (at least openly) and want to see good action scenes. Admittedly, these people happen to be male.

I certainly believe in romance in novels as long as it happens organically. When I mean is that the romance happens over time, naturally. As characters get to know one another, perhaps they begin to develop feelings for one another and keep them hidden, or suppress them, explore them or nature them along. I have read some posts, reviews, and some novels recently that reminded me that romance is an essential part of maturing your characters emotionally.

Specifically I bring up one review I received where the reader did not appreciate the lack of romance. I say: I am working on it! I believe that characters need to develop feelings over time and that ‘love at first sight’ is not something I can write about without making it appear fake. It seems contrived and a bit forced when I've read it and when I try to write something along those lines. Not that it is unheard of, mind you, but I believe it would seem out of place to a more sophisticated reader that has been around the block. Just my opinion on the subject.

Powerful emotions such as strife, grief, shock and especially Romance, are the ultimate feelings that convey a genuine realism. I received one review early on where the reader wanted to see more romance and could have done less with the combat/action scenes.

This got me to thinking and plotting a little more with that in mind. And so, in Secrets of the Ebonite Mines, I started to develop a relationship and may have planted the seed in Covenant of the Faceless Knights. My latest novel—rough draft finished BTW!—takes the romance of a certain pair of characters to a satisfying level. As a matter of fact, this book has some surprising twists and turns. It takes the reader on a non-stop emotional ride with serious ramifications and deadly consequences, some genuine emotion, and major loss that sets it apart from anything I have written to date. I am quite surprised and pleased by it if truth be told. I am excited to get it released (hopefully before summer begins) and see what you guys think. But I digress...

As always, I’d love to hear from you folks as to what exactly you look for from your fantasy tales! Is there room for romance? Fire away…

Please join me and the other amazingly talented authors over @ Skulldust Circle where we have formed a Writer's Circle that must be seen--a collection of brilliant, up & coming independently published speculative fiction authors with much to give both now and in the future!

Visit my AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Also, please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.

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All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.

Do Writers Read?

I ask this very simple question because, a while back, I was not reading at all! I had a discussion with a friend and fellow author and we began to chat about not having time to read, with everything else happening in our lives—work, writing, editing, sports, romance, family, sleep—and the list goes on. I am sure you’ve all heard it all, right? I thought to myself: “how am I not reading!?” It was crazy! I used to read voraciously and it was what made me want to write myself so many years ago. So, I made a promise to myself to never let it happen again. So, I made time to read (and especially if you are a writer), I would hope you do, too.

One thing came up about twitter followers. Most of mine (and his for that matter), happen to be writers. He seemed to think that having writers follow you meant that they were only that: writers. I am here to say: nay! Am I right? Please say yes!

Writers should be reading! Plain and simple. It doesn’t have to be an exorbitant amount, but get it in while you can. It is quite simply a measuring stick, research, and who knows, it might teach you a thing or two! So, with that being said, I ask my audience of writers:

Do you make time to read?

Please comment and let us know what you are reading, too, if you don’t mind.

As a side note, I very much enjoy the site Goodreads and would highly recommend any and all of you to join the site! If you do, please friend me HERE!

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Photo from Stock.xchng

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.

Point of View Shifts

Where would you like to go?

I was discussing some writing topics with other authors and readers recently regarding POV (Point of View) shifts in writing. It was something that I minimized when I began writing, and also something I now worry about a great deal moving forward.

This subject may not even pertain to every type of book or genre and may plague fantasy/sci-fi writers the most, because if your writing focuses on one character, then it is something that you don’t have to worry about very often. Also, if you read or write Noir, or even spy novels, etc, it is generally about one person. The problem arises when the scope deals with multiple characters in a group setting. Either way, as a writer or reader, it is a relevant topic.

I have read many books and to be honest, I haven’t really noticed or focused on that particular feature before. Looking back, I notice--and even what I am reading now, it becomes a focus--but for 40 plus years, it meant almost nothing to me as a reader! For example, George Martin handles it by writing one chapter from a particular person’s POV, which is another interesting approach.

So, the discussion continued and then a fellow author began to explain that it wasn’t really all that big of a deal and that it does not detract from the story and people rarely ever notice the shifts anyway. The other readers in the room did not seem to mind either; they just wanted to see good content and did not seem bothered by the way in which it was delivered. Then we touched on Third Person Omniscient vs. Third Person Subjective and agreed that they were OK as long as they did not A)detract from the story or B)give the reader important information that was out of context.

As a reader and/or writer, what do you think? Is Point of View important? Is it something that you notice when you are reading?

As usual, I look forward to your comments!

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase Covenant of the Faceless Knights and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

Photo from Stock.xchng.

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2011 unless otherwise noted.

How Much Editing?

I have been working on a prequel to Covenant of the Faceless Knights that is situated in the Realm of Ashenclaw setting and is an anthology of short stories about some of the characters from the novel. It tells a series of short stories at or around the same timelines and describes what events that person is experiencing, a decade plus before the novel takes place.

Reviewing the work, I find myself doing the same things as far as edits go and feel that I am growing as a storyteller. That being said, how much editing is too much? Whether you write novels, term papers, blogs or short stories, it does not matter. We all experience this and I deal with it each and every time I re-read a section of my work. I am not talking about grammatical errors as they are caught most of the time (not always) and sometimes there can be sloppy sentence structure that needs re-working, which I take care to fix as best I can.

I am talking about editing in the sense of the overall storyline. What can you add, what can be taken out and what is over-done. When you finish reading a chapter, do you sometimes feel like the author hasn’t given you enough information or that you have had enough already and the story needs to move on.

I find myself habitually and obsessively reviewing my work and ‘tweaking’ it here and there and figure that this is something that many writers have to overcome. I am my own worst critic I think and have several educated readers reviewing my work as well. They tend to talk me off the ledge when I feel that I have hit the wall, pick me up and dust me off, etc.

I for one (as I am sure many others can relate) do not have the funds at this time to hire an experienced editor, so am doing the best that I can with the resources at my disposal.


My experience lately is, while engrossed in the writing, I have been trying to relay information as organically as possible. This leaves me wondering if there is too much or too little information given in one chapter, etc. Most of the time it seems to work, but still begs the questions:

How much is too much editing?

How many of you go through multiple re-writes or re-wording during your edits and do you have any advice for the budding author?

Do any other writers out there review their work obsessively?

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase Covenant of the Faceless Knights and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

Photos from Stock.xchng

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios, LLC 2011 unless otherwise noted.

What Price is the Right Price for a Book?

I am seeing a bit of disparity in the price
of books, especially eBooks. I see prices that range from $30.00+ for a hardcover down to .99 cents for an eBook.

I am wondering what is the best price point for a novel and at what point will you not 'break the bank' for a book? I don't think that $10.00 is asking too much for a book that I want to read, regardless of whether or not it in print or an eBook, but what the heck do I know!?

With books so easy to obtain via downloads to the Nook, Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Android phones, etc., does that change your mind, too? I know Amazon and the eBook changed the publishing and writing game forever.

I looked recently on the top kindle book and every single one was $2.99 and under. Some of them were even free! I am not sure how they count ‘free’ as sales, but I am sure it is possible. I know many bloggers and authors have discussed this, but I wanted to see what my audience thinks. Reason being is that I have many more books in the works!

I feel that my publishing company may have mislead me indirectly or perhaps I wasn’t clear enough with my expectations—maybe it was simply my own delusions of grandeur that pushed my own ego into thinking that I could make a good push with sales all by myself…meh. While I think that I am doing a fairly good job of marketing using the social media sites, I feel like sometimes I am beating a dead horse…especially on Facebook. I am having some success with twitter, my website and with the blog in driving visitors to each using the other. At some point or another, I feel that I am going to need either to spend some of my own money for a media blitz or try to find an agent to net me a publisher.

Who was happy? This guy!

Circling back to the first published book, I went with the ‘let’s try to see how far I can push this while competing against known authors’ route in my price point. While I don’t say that it is wrong, I think that I may have put the cart before the horse.

I am currently working on a prequel: an anthology that includes the story of what happened to my retired heroes prior to the prologue in Covenant of the Faceless Knights. I am also working on short stories of Elec, Saeunn, Rose and Garius. I am also planning on doing another full length novel for the second in the ‘Beginnings’ series (sequel). I am still debating whether or not to include a story about Orngoth in the anthology (prequel)…I will see if anyone clamors for one here!

Also, I am planning on releasing the anthology sometime next year with the price point of .99 cents up to $2.99. Any advice from the pro’s out there? I am not quite sure what to do yet for the full length novel and am debating whether or not to bother with the interior art again. I liked it, but am not sure if it is worth the added expense.

I know that some people only charge the $2.99 price, but are they mostly novellas, short stories or what? My novel was 304 pages and I spent a lot of hard work in editing, presenting and writing it. I am not saying that anyone else hasn't, merely presenting the facts from my side for anyone who hasn't written a book yet! Does that mean anything or not when compared to the rest of the field?

My questions to you are:

1. What do you charge or what would you pay for a full length novel?

2. What do you expect content-wise and editorial-wise for the .99 cent to $2.99 price point?

3. Do you want to see a sixth short story in the anthology that centers on the half-ogre barbarian Orngoth?


See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit my home page to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase Covenant of the Faceless Knights and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

(Photos from Kozzi and me!)


All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios, LLC 2011 unless otherwise noted.

Covenant of the Faceless Knights available...

My debut novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, is available now in hardcover, softcover and eBook HERE!

This also got me thinking. What exactly is it that draws you as the reader into epic fantasy? Is it the setting and the landscape? Is it the allure of the unexplainable such as magic? Is it the fantastic creatures and monsters that lurk in the recesses of the mind such as the vampires, ogres and dragons? Is it the idealistic code of conduct and honor of knights and warriors? Or is it the deceit or tactical strategy involved in overthrowing a kingdom, a castle or merely a king?

When I sat down to write CotFK, the prospect of having a completely blank space to work with was what excited me most. The idea of being able to weave tales within the world that I created was at first a daunting task, but also a very exciting one. The fact that I could literally do anything I wanted because there I was building the landscape from scratch made writing the story so much fun.

I recall writing specific happenings within the Realm of Ashenclaw with Nick Titano. We were literally adding things to an old map I had created many years ago that was the template for Wothlondia (the continent on Krotto, my world, where the action takes place) and moving the landscape to fit the story was quite empowering.

No matter what your draw for reading, I can say that we all need an escape from this world every once in a while to give ourselves a break and the high stakes of epic fantasy novels and the possibility of changing the landscape with the turning of a few pages is truly awe inspiring to me.

So I ask you: what draws you to the genre of fantasy?

Welcome to my world!

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase Covenant of the Faceless Knights and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!
 

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios, LLC 2011 unless otherwise noted

Beginnings

I am proud to announce that ‘COVENANT OF THE FACELESS KNIGHTS’, my first full length fantasy novel, should be hitting the bookshelves sometime in late July/early August….

It will be available as an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover in a 6” x 9” format! With the sales of e-books climbing and the sales of printed books declining, I had a tough decision to make. Ultimately, I wanted to have my first novel released in both e-book and print form. 

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders and especially AUTHORHOUSE.COM (where I encourage you to purchase the book) will be providing an avenue for you to purchase the novel and give it a read! I would encourage anyone who enjoys epic fantasy tales to peruse it and to experience firsthand the world as well as the characters interacting within it. I am extremely proud of breathing life into this world and the main characters that I have grown so fond of so quickly. 

I am hoping that each and every reader can connect on some level with the characters, understanding that they all have problems and personal baggage to bring along with them as they blossom into ‘heroes’.

Oh, and there are drawings, too!

I’d love to know what the readers think about including artwork inside the book. I know I used to read novels years ago, (Terry Brooks’ novels if I recall correctly), that had drawings that made me want to read more and find out who the characters were! I am hoping to instill that same type of emotion when people see the art for the first time.

I would especially like to thank Nicholas Titano of www.infernaltitans.com for having generously given me so much of his time in helping me with the many details related to the Realm of Ashenclaw! 

And to any and all that gave me the inspiration and the encouragement to keep going: I thank you!  

                               

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase Covenant of the Faceless Knights and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios, LLC 2011 unless otherwise noted.