Another of our fine moderators, L. Blankenship, is here to tell us about the release of the half-omnibus edition of Disciple. Make sure to get on her mailing list so you can snap that up as soon as it comes out. But first, some questions from me...
Where did the initial idea for Disciple come from?
The romance part of the story grew out of an online discussion about Titanic. Someone argued that if Rose had been poor and Jack rich, she would've been a gold-digger and he would've been a jerk slumming for tail. Making a romance out of that would've been ridiculous. So I took up the challenge.
Which part of the publishing process was the most surprising?
I was surprised to learn that ebooks are really just a particular type of web page that’s been packaged up for viewing in a specific way. Ebooks are created using HTML/CSS and there’s nothing cryptic or terribly difficult about that.
Despite that, I still managed to hit half a dozen technical snags the first time around. There’s a bit of a learning curve.
If you could give yourself any piece of advice before you started writing, what would it be?
Don’t let what that professor said sophomore year stop you. Well, to be less specific, I’d tell myself that the best way to figure out what makes people tick is to get out there and meet them -- but like a lot of writers, I’m shy and that has never come easy. I've been trying to make up for lost time lately, when it comes to meeting people.
Plotter or panster?
Plotter. I outline everything, from the overall story to the individual scenes. I write reams of notes about world-building and character motivation. But inside of all that I try to leave room for spontaneous developments. When my characters disagree with me or make suggestions, I listen because they are usually right.
Quiet room or noisy room when you're writing? How quiet do you need it? What sort of noise?
I need music when I'm writing, and minimal distractions. My iTunes library is carefully organized into various lists to suit various moods and I mix those lists to fit the day’s writing. Then I have to shut down as much of the internet as possible so that it doesn't distract me but I can still check details as needed. That can be a little tricky.
Your writing area/desk: a place for everything and everything in its place or if anyone ever straightened it, you'd never find a thing?
Everything in its place. I've recently discovered that I’m a more tidy person than I thought I was. My desk is fairly clean and organized. It needs to have enough space for the cats to sprawl without getting in the computer’s way, you see...
What is your current pop culture obsession (book, TV show, movie, webcomic…)? What are the rest of us missing?
It’s more like what am I missing that you all know about, lol. I am so far behind on reading and watching things that it’s ridiculous. Writing and self-publishing chews up a lot of time! I've been watching
Breaking Bad and
Continuum lately, and reading some of the steampunk wave that happened a few years back.
The DISCIPLE HALF-OMNIBUS
collects the first three parts of DISCIPLE
a gritty fantasy romance series
Back cover
War is coming. Kate Carpenter is only a peasant girl, but she’s determined to help defend the kingdom and its bound saints against the invading empire. Her healing magic earned her a coveted apprenticeship with the master healer; now she must prove herself ready to stand in the front lines and save lives.
She’s not ready for the attentions of a ne’er-do-well knight and the kingdom’s only prince, though. This is no time to be distracted by romance — the empire’s monstrous army will tear through anyone standing between them and the kingdom’s magical founts. All disciples must put aside their tangled feelings and stand in the homeland’s defense.
DISCIPLE, PART IV arrives on March 10th!
Or try out PART I for free!
and sometimes at Amazon -- working on that…
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disciple. 
