A New Meeting Place for Readers and Writers

     Many times in life, our job is just that - work.  It's a joy when our vocation can intersect with our passion.  Today, I'd like to introduce you to someone who has taken something they enjoy immensely and created an enterprise of sorts from that love.  I ran across Paul Martin in the twitter-verse one day as he was preparing to launch his new endeavor. He has been very kind in helping us present Guiamo Chronicles to a new group of readers.  If you're looking for a place for readers to connect with new writers, spend a few minutes with me while I talk to Paul regarding Self Publisher's Showcase.

~Thanks for taking the time to spend a few minutes sharing with us about Self Publishers Showcase. 

Anytime, Tracey. Thanks for having me; it certainly makes a pleasant change to be answering the questions.

~First, can you tell our readers a little about yourself and your background.

I’m a ‘thirtysomething’ married, father of 5 very hyperactive youngsters. My background, for the most part, is rooted in luxury hospitality in both the UK and the US. It may not be immediately clear how I have managed to end up where I am now(even to me) but I have always had a deep love of the written word; it was only always a matter of time before I found myself doing something in the world of literature. When I’m not Showcasing the work of a fantastically talented group of Authors I can also occasionally be found working with many author’s ‘elixir of life’ through a great Artisan Coffee Start-up in ‘eightpointnine’. Definitely worth a look for any UK based readers. 

~Transforming an idea into an actual product or organization takes time.  Can you share with us some of the background of Self Publisher’s Showcase and what inspired you?

This really should be the part where I explain the months, if not years, of arduous preparation. But it really hasn’t been that way. Around 12 months ago I found myself in conversation with a few authors whose work I had enjoyed, through  social media. I then approached a close friend in Steve Taylor-Bryant at The Cult Den.com about the possibility of doing some interviews with these authors, that could then be published on his site. Having enjoyed the experience immensely and seeing the positive reactions of my author friends I set about coming up with a way to do this on a grander, all-encompassing scale. The idea for The Showcase was finalized after a period of brainstorming and went from the ideas stage to the launch stage in a relatively short space of time.

~There are many sites on the web offering publicity for authors.  What sets Self Publisher’s Showcase apart from all the rest?

I had a clear idea in my head from the outset of how I wanted the site to work. Luckily working on the site myself has fortunately allowed me to keep incredibly close to these ideals. Other sites that I’ve visited have in my opinion always fallen down in 2 or 3 areas: A lack of good, fresh content, a lack of personality and most notably the ability to take what should be a clean and simple platform and turn it into a jumbled mixture that can turn finding something of interest to you into a kind of scavenger hunt...

The Showcase, to me at least says: Great original content – Whether it’s Interviews, Reviews, Short Fiction etc. A constant helpful presence; if you need us for anything we are always at hand. And, an easy to navigate site; If you come to us looking for something new in Fantasy to get your teeth into it won’t take you half a day to find what you are looking for.

 ~I know you represent many authors, but if you had to pick three stories that have personally intrigued you from the books that you offer, what would they be?

I’m going to cheat here and tell you about four, though in fairness one book predates the Showcase so maybe we can just pretend that it’s three after all? Firstly, I’ve always been a big Fantasy reader so it’s no great surprise that the first couple are Fantasy books. Before the Showcase was launched I came across ANGST from DavidPedersen, an author we are now lucky enough to feature on the site. The main character is a middle-aged, reluctant hero and the story is to this day one of my absolute favourites. 

Secondly I was immediately intrigued by Marshall Best’s GUIAMO novels (someone I think you may be familiar with). The story shows such commitment to research and weaves fiction with legend seamlessly. In fact I am currently around two-thirds of the way through Cumoro, the second book in the planned 9 book series as we speak.

Moving out of Fantasy, my third choice would be DEAD WEST, a Weird Western / Zombie mash-up that is the start of what promises to be a very interesting series, co-written by Tim Marquitz, J.M. Martin and Kenny Soward. 

Finally, well out of my comfort zone, I recently picked up a copy of James Knight’s HEAD TRAUMAS and I have to say, the intrigue paid off in a big way. It is not something I would normally have read, and for me that just goes to prove what we are trying to achieve here at The Showcase. It really does pay to try something different every now and again, you really do find some absolute gems.

~What can readers expect to find when they visit your site?

If everyone sees the site as I do, and I really hope they do, they’ll find a plethora of fantastic authors across a multitude of genres. Many incredibly open and honest interviews, book reviews, original short fiction and giveaways. We’ve also just this week added a new section to the site. Some of our authors are utilising crowd funding to get amazing projects off the ground, so we’ve now made it possible for our readers to get involved without any hassle. There are some great incentives on offer and it goes without saying, any donations are greatly appreciated by our authors. All of this is presented in what we consider to be a fresh and well-designed platform; easy to navigate and a great place to visit time and time again.

~What are your goals with Self Publisher’s Showcase?  What will make you look back with satisfaction knowing you have succeeded in what you set out to do?

My goals, for all of the right reasons, are constantly being reassessed. I started with the modest goal of hoping to make a difference in perhaps 1 or 2 author’s daily lives. Perhaps helping increase sales and my work was done? Now though, with the constant stream of positive feedback, I just want to take the training wheels off and see how far I can take us. Every day the interest grows as more and more authors take the step to be pro-active and join us on our exciting journey. I would love to sit here in 5 or 10 years time and tell you how hundreds of authors have found their audience through the work The Self-Publisher’s Showcase has done. In fact, that’s a goal, right? Pencil that interview in 5 years from now. Easier questions though...

~Is this a one man show?  If not, who else is involved?

It is to a degree... The day to day running of the site, the interviewing, the social accounts, the back and forth between the site and our fabulous authors is all me. But then I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m lucky enough to be involved in something I’m very passionate about and hopefully that comes across with everyone who interacts with The Showcase. That said, I’m also lucky enough to have a very dedicated review team in place already in James [Fox], Reece [Jones] and Matthew [Cunliffe]. As the site continues to grow I’m sure that there will come a time where I have to lessen the role I play in some aspects of the site, I’m just not ready to hand over too much of my baby right now.

~If you’re looking for a place to discover new books and new authors, take a moment and head over to Self Publisher’sShowcase.  Thanks Paul for taking the time to talk with us!

My absolute pleasure, Tracey. If you’re reading this, do pop by and say ‘Hello’, it’s always great to hear from anyone with an interest in what we are trying to achieve. If anyone has any questions at all about what we do I can be reached directly via paul(at)selfpublishershowcase(dot)com or via twitter @selfpubshowcase.

Happy Reading Everyone!

Blogger Book Fair - Interview with Tara Entwistle-Clark, author of Butterfly In Winter

 

A Butterfly in Winter
by Tara Entwistle-Clark

Published by Tara Entwistle-Clark

Realistic YA/Social Issues

Contains talk of sexuality and strong language, as well as a scene of sexual assault

Heat Level: Tame

Length: 322 pages

             Available at:

               Amazon

                                                                                   Smashwords   Barnes and Noble

A Butterfly In Winter

Allison Stafford is fourteen.  As if that is not enough to deal with in itself, her parents suddenly move her from her small town in Vermont to suburban Michigan, all in the middle of her freshman year of high school.  For Allison, there is more to learn at her new school than just finding her way around.  Soon she is attempting to make sense of her newly discovered sexuality, and wondering what it takes to fit in with the “cool” people at her school.  Despite tragedy and several mistakes, Allison manages to survive.  This novel leads the reader through the murky depths of high school, and reminds us all of the importance of true friendship. 

1 + 1 = 2

    Math is cut and dry, black and white. Life, on the other hand is not. Life can be messy, confusing and scary and no one knows that better than a teenager. Although growing up has its exhilarating moments, it has even more moments of questioning. Teens question themselves, their worth, their parents, the rules…When they think they’ve figured things out, their friends may tell them they’re all wrong. It’s a lot to navigate. Gone are the carefree days of playing on the playground, blowing bubbles, riding bikes and getting ice cream from the ice cream truck.

    In today’s world, one of the trickiest things to navigate is a teenager’s sexuality.  As parents we often dread the very necessary “talk” about the birds and the bees. Although we are sexual beings, we aren't exactly comfortable talking to our kids about sex. Our culture, however, has no qualms portraying it in all sorts of ways. Teens are assaulted with a barrage of images, articles, movies and songs regarding the subject.

    My guest today is Tara Entwistle-Clark, author of Butterfly In Winter.  She’s here to share some of her background, her motivation and why she felt it important to write about this very tumultuous time in every young adult’s life.

 - Tell us a little bit about your book and its title. What made you choose the title that you did.

A Butterfly in Winter is a YA coming of age story about friendship, peer pressure, relationships, and the emergence of sexuality in teenage girls. I chose the title because I believed it reflected the theme effectively. A girl’s psyche and emotional stability is fragile, like a butterfly, and high school is like the winter that may be impossible for the butterfly (or in this case, a girl’s emotional strength) to survive.

-What do you hope to teach or convey to your readers in writing this story?

The main point is that no one is alone in the things that happen to them. For Allison, she learns who her real friends are, even if she has to go through hell to discover them. I also think it’s important for teen readers to realize that much of what they face is normal. Allison has normal concerns for a teenage girl, but most girls her age don’t have anyone to talk to about them. We live in a society that sexualizes everything and it’s hard when the messages are mixed. On one end, media pushes us to become sexual at a young age and seems to mock people who don’t buy into that. For example, a brand like Pink exists. It’s targeted at very young girls and now we have 12 year olds running around with the word “juicy” on their butts. That’s insane. On the other hand, many people are becoming more conservative and parents and often teachers and adults are telling these same girls that they should not be attracted to boys, that they should not be thinking about sex. So what ends up happening is we abandon these kids to navigate this nonsense all by themselves– and that’s why we see things like what happened in Steubenville or in California.

-As written in the excerpt on Amazon, as we get older life becomes a lot less black and white. Real life can be messy. As you and I have discussed earlier, your story involves some difficult subject matter. Why did you feel it important to include this particular subject in the story?

Like I said, real life is hard. However, we are a media saturated society but the media lies to us. Reality TV tells young people that they can be famous for nothing – or for something immoral. Growing up is hard enough, but we are often confronted with challenges that make us question our values. I think a balance is important, but we seem to draw a line that says “this stuff is okay for adults but you can’t think about it until you’re an adult,” but then we don’t give kids tools to get through adolescence. I don’t think kids should be doing many of the things they’re doing, but I also think we can’t pretend they won’t. It amazes me that we put all of this stuff out there for them – like reality TV, music, movies, social media, etc. – and then we demand that they handle it well. There are girls taking pictures of themselves naked and sending those pictures out over the internet – at 13! Why is no one saying anything?! When we do, it’s to punish or mock that girl. I don’t see how that helps, either.

- In writing a story and conveying the details of an event, a writer must decide how much detail to give, what to describe for the reader and what to leave to their imagination. You shared with me that your book involves a very graphic scene of sexual assault. What influenced your decision to describe this scene in a graphic way rather than more indirectly?

I think it needs to be said. A significant number of girls and women are sexually assaulted every year. We have no problem sexualizing people for entertainment, but we don’t talk about the dark side of sex. I don’t think it’s healthy to pretend that Jersey Shore behavior doesn’t have its consequences. I also think that people should know what actually happens. When you’re young and someone warns you of something in vague terms, it isn’t real. I remember sitting through countless assemblies about drunk driving and it not sinking in until one day, the cops brought in pictures of a mangled car and then a mother stood up and told us the horrible details about her son’s death. Sometimes, we need to face the way things really are.

- What ages would you say A Butterfly in Winter is appropriate for? Describe your target audience.

I would say high school, but really any reader who is sexually aware. That doesn’t mean sexually active, but it’s funny to say the book should be limited to sixteen and up when Allison is 14 and I’ve had students who are far more experienced that she is and they were even younger. Sadly, I think girls are becoming sexualized even younger than ever –which depresses me. So teen, because I can’t deal with the reality of that.

- What motivated you to write on the topic of high school, its pressures and pitfalls?

What’s funny is that I worked as a high school teacher for ten years, but not until after I wrote the novel. However, I never really forgot how challenging high school was and I don’t think anything has changed. In fact, it’s likely gotten worse. With modern technology, it has become even easier to destroy a person. Being a teenage girl is hard.

- This may overlap a bit with the last question. What experiences have you had in life that prepared you to write this story?

Many of the experiences Allison has were similar to my own. I moved in high school, I faced my own share of peer pressure, and I’ve survived destructive relationships. I think that’s a part of the story, too. The fact that a great deal of women have had these experiences was one of the main reasons it felt like it was worth writing.

- Can you describe your favorite scene in the book without spoiling the book for readers?

I love the scene when the group of them goes to play hide and seek in the supermarket. I think it captures the carefree innocence that is still possible and it gives some hope – even if, in this case, it doesn’t last.

-Tell us a little bit about the covers for the book. I notice there are two covers, one for the paperback and a different one for the e-book.

The paperback cover was designed for me when it was published years ago. I designed the ebook cover. They both capture the basic concepts – teenager and emotional drama. The paperback cover clearly identifies relationships as a main focus, whereas the ebook cover showcases the angst more.

-Which is your favorite cover and why?

I like them both. I opted for the black and white one for the ebook, though, because I felt like it was important that the book was not mistaken for a happy and light romance novel. This is a pretty depressing work and I think the ebook cover showcases that well.

- A Butterfly in Winter was published back in 2005 so you’ve been writing for quite some time. What was your first published book and what have you learned over the years that might be helpful to other authors?

This was my first published book and I haven’t released anything new, although I am currently working on two novels. One fantasy and another realistic YA title. What I think was most important in what I learned is that feedback needs to be taken for what it is. I went through so much critique with this book and now when I read it, I feel like I don’t even know what the voice was supposed to be. I would like to go back and edit it, but I can’t, because I hear too many other voices in the writing. I’ve learned now to listen to what feels right – and ignore the rest. At the end of the day, it’s my book and I need to stick to my story.


Thanks for sharing with us Tara. 

You Can Follow Tara 

 

Website/blog: http://tarasbookblog.com

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 My Review

Butterfly in Winter is a story of 14 year old Allison making new friends after changing schools. It portrays very well the conflicting thoughts a teenager may face as they decide how to conduct themselves. Wanting to do the “cool” thing, not wanting to look stupid, wanting to fit in, teens often sacrifice their true identity until they truly don’t know who they are or what they think. This story shows the importance of parental supervision, opportunities abounding when adults are absent to fall into difficult and tempting situations.

Although many people approach sexual relations from differing moral perspectives, I would say most acknowledge the vast difference between a loving relationship and one of convenience where people are treated similar to a towel used after a shower that’s tossed aside. Tara Entwistle-Clark has done a great job of portraying these differences in her book Butterfly in Winter. Growing up is not black and white. The need to fit in is intense. The mixed messages are many.  As parents we need to spend more time discussing hard issues with our teens to prepare them to navigate the waters of adolescence more successfully and without some of the pain Allison experiences in this story.  We need to teach our daughters to respect themselves and our sons to treat young women with the dignity they deserve.