Name: Gabriel Valjan
Book Title: Turning To Stone
Genre:
Mystery, Suspense, and Thriller
Publisher: Winter Goose Publishing
Thank you for your time in
answering our questions about getting published. Let’s begin by having
you explain to us why you decided to become an author and pen this book?
Author: Gabriel Valjan
Is this your first book?
Gabriel: Turning To Stone is Book 4 of the Roma Series from Winter Goose
Publishing and available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble in paperback and
digital formats.
Some background for readers: Bianca
started work as an analyst at a time when legislation against white-collar
crimes was lacking in the U.S., so she is recruited for her hacker and
pattern-recognition skills. After the initial excitement wears off, she
realizes that many of the subjects of her investigations end up dead. Fearing
for her life, she flees to Italy, assumes a new identity, and attempts to live
a normal life. She falls in love and develops a circle of friends, who happen
to do work similar to the kind that she had done in the U.S., but within her
adopted country’s law enforcement agency, the Guardia di Finanza. A computer
correspondent named Loki contacts her on occasion and feeds her challenges.
Bianca is in Naples for Turning To Stone. Loki, her mysterious
contact, is now giving her baffling anagrams. They seem to lead to a
charismatic entrepreneur who has a plan to partner with organized crime to
manipulate the euro and American dollar. Against a backdrop of gritty streets,
financial speculation, and a group of female assassins on motorcycles, Bianca
and her friends discover that Naples might just be the most dangerous city in
Italy.
With this particular book, how
did you publish – traditional, small press, Indie, etc. – and why did you
choose this method?
Gabriel: Winter Goose Publisher
is a small, but growing, indie press in California, with titles in a variety of
genres in fiction and poetry. WGP had published Roma Series Book 1: Roma, Underground in 2012 and remains my
publisher and supporter.
Can you tell us a little about
your publishing journey? The pros and
cons?
Gabriel: I started writing in
2008 when I was between jobs. In 2010, I started getting published, with one
notable accomplishment: being short-listed for the Fish Prize, a prestigious
literary award in Ireland. While I continued to write short stories, winning an
award from ZOUCH for a flash fiction
piece, I started writing novels. The genesis of the Roma Series was a challenge
from a colleague to write a compelling, but flawed, female protagonist.
Alabaster/Bianca came into
existence, with Roma, Underground
written between September and November of 2010, submitted to Winter Goose
Publishing in 2011 and published in 2012. I continued writing novels, three more
of which WGP published, and I had anthologies and publishers accept more of my
short stories.
I count my blessings that I did
not languish for years before I was published. I’m grateful that my publisher
has been both gracious and supportive, allowing me a say in editing and
cover-art design. Cons, if there are any, have to do with doing my own PR and
social media. I’m somewhat introverted and reserved so I had to cultivate an
outgoing persona. It is important to remain positive and patient since there
are so many authors out there, so many books, and it takes time to develop a
readership.
What lessons do you feel you
learned about your particular publishing journey and about the publishing
industry as a whole?
Gabriel: In terms of social
media, I follow Kristen Lamb’s 80/20-Rule in that I tweet or discuss what is
important to me 80% of the time, and promote myself 20% of the time. I usually don’t
do more than three tweets a day, and I never DM or automate messages to folks
on Twitter to buy or read my books. I mention writers and other artists I like
for good karma. I avoid trolls, as they are best left under bridges unfed. I
understand (and accept) that not everybody will like my books, or that readers
may not leave reviews, but it is important to remain positive when I feel as if
my voice has the range of a kitten’s meow in the wilderness; it’s a big world
out there in publishing, but I have four tangible books to hold in my hands and
a growing body of blog posts and short stories out there with publishers.
Would you recommend this method
of publishing to other authors?
Gabriel: A small press has its
up and down sides. The positive side that I have experienced is having a
greater say in how my book will appear to readers. In addition to my own
editorial process, which includes a proofreader, a cultural editor, since my
book involves a foreign culture, and a line-editor, I have two editors at
Winter Goose whom I have found to be receptive and congenial. The design
process for the book cover has been collaborative. I am not a graphic designer
or artist, but I have a grasp of my story and ideas do come to me, and Winter
Goose has listened, taking what I say and creating compelling covers for the
Roma Series.
What’s the best advice you can
give to aspiring authors?
Gabriel: Stay positive. Don’t
be discouraged. Keep writing and hone your craft such that each story and every
novel improves for your loyal readers and the future readers who will discover
you.
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