Daniel, welcome back to my blog. I read the sample of Flaming Dove and I’m intrigued. Angels and demons are a special passion of mine.
Available at Amazonhttp://www.amazon.com/Flaming-Dove-ebook/dp/B004089EPA
Can you briefly describe the book?
Flaming Dove is my second novel, following Firefly Island.
The idea for Flaming Dove just struck me one day. I was doing something completely unrelated when suddenly… BAM, the idea hit. I quickly jotted down the premise to the novel:
“Outcast from Hell. Banished from Heaven. Lost on Earth.
“The battle of Armageddon was finally fought... and ended with no clear victor. Upon the mountain, the armies of Hell and Heaven beat each other into a bloody, uneasy standstill, leaving the Earth in ruins. Armageddon should have ended with Heaven winning, ushering in an era of peace. That's what the prophecies said. Instead, the two armies--one of angels, one of demons--hunker down in the scorched planet, lick their wounds, and gear up for a prolonged war with no end in sight.
“In this chaos of warring armies and ruined landscapes, Laila doesn't want to take sides. Her mother was an angel, her father a demon; she is outcast from both camps. And yet both armies need her, for with her mixed blood, Laila can become the ultimate spy... or ultimate soldier. As the armies of Heaven and Hell pursue her, Laila's only war is within her heart--a struggle between her demonic and heavenly blood."
I still use that description on the novel’s Amazon page and on my website. I don’t know what triggered the sudden inspiration, but once it hit, I had to write it down.
That evening, I began to write the novel. As I wrote, I was leafing through Paradise Lost, studying the Gustave Dore illustrations. There’s a lot of Dore in Flaming Dove.
Flaming Dove was fast to write. I pounded out the novel in a mad dash, writing during evenings and weekends for several weeks. I’ve edited it thoroughly since then, but the central concept remains.
Did you query agents or traditional publishers before publishing on Amazon?
I did at first. Firefly Island was traditionally published, and that’s what I knew. But by the time I had finished writing Flaming Dove, my publisher—Five Star—had decided to close their fantasy line. I was suddenly homeless! I made a few half-hearted attempts at querying agents, but heard only, “We love the novel, but the market is doing poorly, and we’re swamped besides.” I quickly abandoned the idea of going to traditional publishers.
Something amazing happened then. Kindle finally came to Canada, my country. To test the waters, I uploaded Firefly Island, my first novel. Within a couple weeks, it had sold a hundred copies. After a few more weeks, it had sold five hundred. I was amazed! I knew I had to go indie with Flaming Dove. And I did. And I love it. I love the sense of freedom and control. And the 70% royalties I earn now are also not bad.
Will you try to garner a traditional publishing contract for any future books?
It depends on the novel. I’m working on a quirky, comedic novel right now; so quirky, I think traditional publishers won’t know what to do with it. Such a novel would be perfect to simply upload to ebook stores myself.
So far I’m happy with my new indie life. If things keep going well, I might stay indie. I think it really depends what offers I see for the next novel. If a publisher offered me an attractive contract – large advance, high first print run – I would seriously consider it. But indie is going well, so I’m happy where I am.
Did you design your cover art? If not, would you care to share your graphic designer’s information?
Timothy Lantz, a successful fantasy artist, created my cover. He’s fantastic. I sent Timothy a detailed description of the main character, who is half angel, half demon. In his artwork, she appears exactly as described in the text – down the finest details of her outfit. More importantly, Timothy captured the dark, Gothic mood of the novel in his artwork.
You can view his website here: http://www.stygiandarkness.com
You can view a large image of the cover on my website: http://www.DanielArenson.com
How did you feel when you got your first sale for Flaming Dove? Are you pleased with sales so far?
When my first sale occurred, I was surprised. I had just uploaded the novel to the Kindle store, and hadn’t announced it yet. In fact, its release was still something of a secret. But right away somebody bought it.
And yes, I’m pleased with sales so far. The novel was only released a few days ago, but already people are buying.
What kinds of social media [twitter, facebook, webpage, blog, writing forums] are you involved with trying to garner attention for your book(s)?
My twitter page: http://www.Twitter.com/DanielArenson
My facebook author page: http://www.facebook.com/DanielArenson
My website: http://www.DanielArenson.com
I also spend a lot of time at KindleBoards.com.
Besides Amazon, are there any other sites where your books are for sale?
Yes. You can buy Flaming Dove at Smashwords.com. It’s available there in multiple formats for various ereaders.
Here’s a link: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/22230
What’s next for you?
I’m hard at work on several new novels. Keep an eye out for them!
Thanks for the interview, Deb. It was fun as always.
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