Lady of Shadows, Anne Ireland

AUTHOR:Anne Ireland

BOOK TITLE: Lady Of Shadows

PUBLISHER:MuseItUp Publishing
BUY LINK: http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=337&category_id=231&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1
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1)    Tell me a little about your book.

This is a medieval story woven with magic and mystery, a strong romance about star-crossed lovers. Rhianna is forced to flee the castle on the night of the Crimson Moon, but from a distance she sees the mother she adores fall to her death from the battlements as the moon seems to weep tears of blood. Rhianna vows to be revenged on the man who caused so much destruction, but she does not know that she will fall in love with the son of her mother’s enemy. Nor does she understand that she is the ‘lady’ and born to serve the Sisters of The Ring.

2)    What gave you the idea for this particular story?

I wanted to write a powerful Medieval story. It was not intended to be about magic at the start but it just took hold and wrote itself

3)    Are you a full-time writer or part-time, and how do you organize your writing time?

I am a full-time writer.  At one period of my life I used to write all day and even into the evening, but these days it is usually just the mornings.  I need a little more time to relax and enjoy life now – and I think it’s good to have more thinking time.  Just because I’m not at my computer doesn’t mean to say the story stops evolving in my mind.

4)    When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?

As a child I was always making up stories but I didn’t think of writing them down for many years and I was late thirties/forties before I wrote a book that was accepted mainstream.  There were no ebooks then and it was much harder to get published than it is these days.  With the dawn of ebooks many more young authors have been able to see their work in print, which is lovely for them.

5)    What do you hope readers will take from your writing?

I write to please myself and also to please my readers.  A book that moves me to tears will usually do the same to others.  In some of my other books (under other names) I sometimes have to stick to guidelines and change things for my publisher and I think those books can become a little dull because I do not have the freedom I have in a book like Lady of Shadows.  This has been written from the heart. I loved doing it and lived every word, every line.  Hopefully, my readers will feel the same.

6)    Which genres do you write, which do you prefer, and why?

I write romances of all kinds from Regency sweet to modern.  I’ve done very sexy a couple of times, though that doesn’t suit me.  I like Lady of Shadows because my imagination took flight and I let myself go.  I was transported to another world and there were no boundaries. However, there are times when it suits me to write a mystery, a saga or a Regency. I earn more money from Regency than anything else but money isn’t everything – there’s fulfillment of the soul, which writers need.

7)    What is the toughest part about being a writer and how do you get past it?

The toughest part is when you’ve put your heart and soul into a book; the editor says I loved it and the money-men say we can’t go with it.  The disappointment then is horrendous.  This often happens in mainstream, where advances are often several thousand pounds and so the marketing department rules even when the editor loved the book.  This hurts.

8)    Is there anything in your story based upon a real life event? If so, tell me about it.

No, this is purely imagination.  The background is historical and of course this is all based on fact.  The wars between the Kings and the visitations of plague, these are recorded facts, but the characters of the story are pure fiction, as is what happens to them.

9)    How much is your protagonist like you? How different?

Rhianna is like me only in that she is a fighter and doesn’t give up.

10) What kind of research did you do for this type of story?

Masses of historical research regarding the period. Although the magic makes this story fantasy or paranormal the background was highly researched to make it authentic for its period, down to the description of houses ect. And the usurper of the English throne and betrayal of Richard is fact.

11) Do writing violent or highly sexual scenes bother you? Why or why not?

I write violence in historical books where it is necessary to support the story or history.  However, I wouldn’t write gratuitous violence that could be harmful.  I like to write sexy scenes but I don’t do a lot of graphic scenes as often sex is best left to the imagination. It becomes boring if gone over and over too much, whereas a hint of what’s going on in the Hero and heroine’s minds is intriguing.

12) What about your book makes it special?

 This book was rewritten many times and it completely immersed me in the period. I lived it and went on the journey every step of the way with my characters and I hope this comes over as I believe this is a special book.  It certainly is for me.

13) What is your marketing plan?

I shall blog on my various blogs and twitter about it. It will go up on my website when my IT man gets round to it.  As yet I don’t have a Facebook because I’m waiting for something. I may need to have a Facebook under one of my other names, but I have plenty of blogs. I shall probably run some competitions on groups and just talk about the book generally. Hopefully, it will catch.  I think this book is the sort that will sell because of word of mouth – if the readers like it, and one can never tell. What some like others hate and that is something a writer has to accept.  I shall send it in for review, though I’m not sure how much help a review is in selling books. If you touch the spot then you can receive good reviews but they can be adverse and extremely hurtful in some cases. 

14) Where can people learn more about you and your work?

I have a website.

www.lindasole.co.uk

I also have an Anne Ireland blog and a Linda Sole blog. You can reach the Linda Sole and Anne Herries blogs through my website but the Anne Ireland one is separate.

http://anneirelandsbooks.blogspot.co.uk/

15) Any tips for new writers hoping to write in the genre of your book?

Writing can be easy or hard.  If you just want to write ebooks you can get published with many small publishers who may also do a print on demand.  If you want to go into mainstream with the big publishers (hardback and mass market paperback) you’re going to have to work a lot harder to get accepted. The demands are high and the chances of getting accepted are slim, unless you’re an exceptional writer.  Once you’ve been accepted it is even harder to stay on the ladder as they ask more all the time. However, the rewards can mean large advances, which you don’t get with ebooks.  The main thing is to study your market and then write from the heart. If you sweat blood and tears it will probably be good, but even then you have to find a publisher and that can be soul destroying. If it’s what you truly want to do, I wish you lots of luck. If you want to write for fun and the pleasure of seeing your book published stick to ebooks.  The chances of getting rich this way are not great but you’ll have lots of fun, earn a bit of pocket money and have the pleasure of being published.  Mind you, the book still has to be good to get into ebooks, but it is easier to find a publisher willing to give you a chance. And just sometimes a book will go into orbit and sell hundreds of thousands of copies…you can always dream.

16) What’s in the future for you?

More writing.  I never stop.  I write a lot of Regency books, also historical romances, which go into all formats with a large publisher.  I’ve also been writing sagas for another English publisher, hardback, trade paperback and now ebook.  Besides this I do a few ebooks, which are different in content  from what I can sell to my traditional publishers.  I am also working with an agent on various projects, which may or not prove successful in the future. As I said before…we can always dream.

Synopsis for Lady of Shadows/Anne Ireland

The first book in the Sisters of the Ring series

Rhianna sees her mother die on the night of the Crimson Moon. She vows revenge on the man who sent her mother to her death but what she cannot know is that she will fall in love with his son.  Rhianna is saved from the carnage that night and flees to her uncle’s house where she learns to live a different life from that she’d known as a child.  Magic and romance is forbidden but one day she will return to the land of her birth.  It is then she will discover who she really is and her duty to the Sisters of the Ring – but her duty may conflict with the dictates of her heart.  She loves a man she should hate – a man one of the Sisters wants dead. As Rhianna’s unhappiness grows the country is torn apart by civil war. Is there a way that she can find happiness or is she doomed to despair?