This time I’m sharing five things about My Name Is A’yen.
1: I wrote the first draft in 86 days, all 97,000 words of
it. If you’re thinking I put my “real life” on hold while I did it, you’d be
correct. I came out of my writing cave to help paint the swimming pool, deal
with a flock of dying chickens, to see a movie, when we had guests over for
dinner, and when my crit partner came down for a research trip to New Orleans.
(I live in Louisiana) That’s it. The rest of the time I was pounding away on my
keyboard as this story poured out of me.
2: A’yen is a humanoid alien similar in looks to The Face of
Boe from Doctor Who. Minus the tentacle thingies and wrinkles. If he was
totally human he’d be the yummy Tom Weston-Jones, who I met in the show Copper
on BBC America, while I was writing the book. The first time he opened his
mouth and spoke it was like A’yen had come to life just to talk to me.
3: This was the first time I’d written a book while
listening to music. Specifically my Nickelback station on Pandora, full of hard
and post-grunge rock bands. Each character ended up with a theme song. A’yen’s
is “When I’m Gone” by 3 Doors Down. Fae’s is “Bring Me To Life” by Evanescence.
Another character, Na’var Manchac, has “Lost In Paradise” by Evanescence.
4: I had no intention to ever publish this book. Then a
friend told me Harper Voyager was doing an open submission call for manuscripts
in preparation for a new digital first line. So I submitted in October, 2012.
In January, 2013, I found out I’d made it through the first round and my ENTIRE
manuscript would be read. I was over the moon! Somebody loved it as much as me.
Alas, I wasn’t picked. But the experience was exactly what I needed at exactly
the right time.
5: This book is A’yen’s story. It’s mostly in his point of
view. It’s what I always wanted to write, but never let myself do because the
market I’d been writing for had no idea what to do with it. They believed
nobody would buy it. So I left the Christian market for the general market. And
kept this story exactly the way it needs to be told.
She blogs sporadically at www.rachelleighsmith.com, can be
found on Twitter @rachelleighgeek, and hangs out on Facebook, www.facebook.com/rachelleighsmithauthor.
You can sign up for her newsletter here.
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Blurb:
They've taken everything from him. Except his name.
The Loks Mé have been slaves for so long,
freedom is a distant myth A'yen Mesu no longer believes. A year in holding,
because of his master's murder, has sucked the life from him. Archaeologist
Farran Hart buys him to protect her on an expedition to the Rim, the last
unexplored quadrant.
Farran believes the Loks Mé once lived on the
Rim and is determined to prove it. And win A'yen's trust. But she's a breeder's
daughter and can't be trusted.
Hidden rooms, information caches and messages
from a long-dead king change A'yen's mind about her importance. When she's
threatened he offers himself in exchange, and lands on the Breeder's
Association's radar. The truth must be told. Even if it costs him his heart.
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1 comments:
Thanks for having me again. This one was fun to write.
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