Beyond Words

Author C. Lee Brown, is the creator of  the  Tales of the Bard series, and editor and contributor to A Visitor to Sandahl . Lee wrote and published his first novel, Cable Hornman: The Bard Begins  and chose the self publishing route. In this interview we learn about the pros and cons of self publishing. As well, Lee gives readers valuable insight into the process of POD (print on demand) publishing . Tell us something about yourself and how you became a writer. I'm a newcomer to sci-fi & fantasy writing. I was born in 1948 and raised in Southern Illinois by my mother, a seamstress, and my father, who worked as a mechanic and electrician in a coal mine. My father passed away when I was just fifteen and it was mom and I until I graduated from high school. I was married on my eighteenth birthday, left home, and spent the next twenty-one years in the U.S. Army. My military service, working as an analyst in Army intelligence, was very interesting, but I alwa...

My editor has been assigned, but I'm, still waiting on cover art for Invisible . In the meantime, I am thrilled to use the image below as my 'stand-in' cover art until the final version is produced by the publisher. The artwork is courtesy of a talented cover artist named Tirzah. She's recently started a website for affordable and amazing cover art. If you're looking for a consciencious and talented artist, Tirzah's your gal. Check out her site at http://www.wix.com/tirzahlou/tirzahsbookcovers I love it! Thank you, Tirzah.  

Recently, I've had the honor of interviewing, Susan Stec, the author of the recently released The Grateful Undead: They're so Vein. They're so Vein is not your typical vampire story. Susan writes with humor and originality, using real life family members as the characters in her novels. In doing so, she gives the reader wonderful characters with big personalities, drawing us in and giving us a laugh all at the same time. Her writing is fresh and original. There's no one out there quite like Susan Stec. She's a true original and I encourage readers to pick up a copy of They're so Vein , the first of her trilogy. Check out the book trailer above. Tell us about yourself and how you became a writer I love fantasy, especially urban fantasy. And even more so if it's humorous. When I turned fifty, I started to have this crazy dream every night: Sexy vamp waltzes through the French doors of my bedroom balcony, and after an erotically charged interlude, he fan...

As far back as I can remember, I've written. I wrote poems and simple short stories as a child. I wrote horror stories as a teenager (Stephen King was an early influence). I wrote for the college newspaper while working towards my journalism degree. And even though I took a long hiatus to raise my family and work, the urge to write never fully disappeared. My teenage daughter will enter university in the fall with the hope of earning an English degree so she can be a high school English teacher, but when I make the suggestion that she write a short story, I get a big fat NO. So, my questions are - what makes us write? Where does this unfailing urge come from? Why do some people love to read but never want to write? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Okay, the publication contract for Invisible has been signed and I'm still waiting on an editor to be assigned to me. But in the meantime, what do I do? I've busied myself with social networking, Twitter, Face Book, blogging, trying to create a following (which incidentally is not an easy feat). But what about writing? I don't have the slightest inclination to write. As a matter of fact I'd rather clean my house, give my dog a bath, do the grocery shopping (a chore I revile), flick on the boob tube to watch mindless reality TV - suddenly Cake Boss is the most interesting thing in the world! Writing after knowing you're on your way to completing your life long dream of having a novel published is HARD. It's as if I've climbed my own personal Mount Everest and reached the summit and now all I want to do is rest. This, however, is not the hallmark of a professional. I'm smart enough to realize that if I ever want to make a living as a writer, I've go...

It's been quite some time since I've posted on my blog. Truthfully there wasn't much to say. However, since my last post I've written a young adult book entitled Invisible and have almost completed my first novel Dark Angel . I'd put Dark Angel aside because Invisible was bursting to be born. And now, I'm thrilled to announce Invisible will soon be published by Solstice Publishing. For all those who are interested, I'd like to take you along on my journey to publication. Invisible is the story of seventeen-year-old, Lola Savullo. Lola's not only freakishly tall, she's a BIG girl and when forced to wear a bathing suit at her summer job as a camp counsellor, she literally wishes herself invisible. Lola struggles with her newfound super power and realizes it isn't about to go away until she finds a way to love herself. I began writing Invisible in October of 2010 and was finished four months later. This is certainly a record as I've been working...