My guest blog at Saffina Desforges!

Saffina Desforges Blog

And speaking yesterday of fabulously named writers, here’s another one I wish I’d been christened/thought of. Please take your bow, Artemis Hunt!

‘Psychotic’ was the first horror story I ever wrote. You can see it here at:
Amazon
I wrote it back in 2005. There’s a funny story attached to it. As a freelance journalist, I was interviewing a bestselling author (who subsequently became a friend) who wrote a book about her adventures as an airline stewardess. In a moment of clarity, I figured “If she can do it, I can do it too.” And so I set out to write a story.
I had this idea running in my head about a woman in a city stalked by a serial killer, only I didn’t want it to be like any other serial killer story I’ve ever read. Once I put down the first word on my computer, the story kind of took hold of me and wouldn’t let go. I finished it within a day and looked at it in satisfaction. Especially at the twist in the end. People still come up to me today and tell me they just didn’t see that twist coming!
“Needs more stories to go with it,” my friend, a newspaper editor, said. “Then you can make an anthology out of it.”
And you know what? I did. I just got a new job, and my horror short stories grew out of the new people I went to work with I titled the book ‘Dark City’, went out to seek an agent, who got me a publisher within a day, and the book was released. It shot up the bestseller lists to as high as No. 2 in the major bookstores. (Those were the times we didn’t have Kindle.) I got rave reviews (89% on my personal Tomatometer One of my stories was even serialized in a newspaper.
Flash forward to 2011. E-publishing was all the rage with success stories like Joe Konrath, Amanda Hocking, Saffina Desforges… I kept reading them and reading them till my eyes blurred over. So what was I waiting for? I took the plunge. I started releasing a few of those horror shorts one by one, and put one up with Saffina Desforges Presents (to be out in Nov)
The one that is doing the best so far, maybe because it was the first being released is ‘Psychotic’. It shot up to No. 23 on the Horror charts in Amazon UK and has 2 5-star reviews to date. I’m proudest of it, because it was the first story I ever wrote. Strangely, since ‘Dark City’, I never wrote horror again.
Since 2007, I began to branch into Young Adult books and tried to get an American agent (as I am not American). Lots of requests from very huge houses, but no takers. You can see some of the books I wrote here at my blog:
http://artemishunt.blogspot.com/
And to be honest, the manuscripts of some of these books are at agents even as I write, because I’m one of those who want to straddle both worlds. My long time beta reader just got a 100K deal at a Big Six within one week of being on submission (and with a book I helped beta), so I’m convinced it CAN be done
So far, I’ve been exactly 2 months into indie publishing, and I’m enjoying every moment of it. I tried my hand at different genres – so far I’ve got my YA fantasy (THE HUNT FOR THE CATALYST), my paranormal chick lit (THE BODY SNATCHER WEARS LIPSTICK), my YA sci-fi/romance (SNOW WHITE AND THE ALIEN), all who have received great reviews so far. Am I doing well? Not Saffina Desforges well, certainly! I haven’t had a home run with anything I wrote yet – and what I mean by a home run is a book that gets into the Amazon Top 500! But I’ve seen my sales grow like this:
Aug (1 week): 14 (1 book)
Sept: 44 (released 2 more books and 2 short stories at the end of the month)
Oct: 584 (as of Oct 26th) – started writing short stories in another genre and pen name ……erotica!!
Yes, I’ve branched out to write erotica as well, and found that they do quite well despite me being a new author to the field, and I can even charge $2.99 per story.
So far, this whole thing is an adventure for me, and I can keep you posted as to how things pan out.
Back to horror. Will I ever write another horror story again? (grins) Why not?
Artemis Hunt (who writes as A.R. Hunt under the ‘horror’ genre). I’m too embarrassed to tell you what my erotica handle is.

Thanks Artemis. Oh go on, tell us! (My apologies that there is no author photo of Artemis, but as you can tell from the above post, she’s very shy!)

My guest blog at Enchanted!

Enchanted - 25 Days of Twisted

18th Day of Twisted: Guest Post by Artemis Hunt

It's the 18th Day of Twisted, and unfortunately, Monday...the upside to this is that we have Artemis Hunt here, author of Snow White and the Alien (as well as many more titles), to brighten your morning!  Enjoy!

I'm exactly 2 months into indie publishing, and it has been a heck of a rollercoaster ride. I didn't know what to expect. I guess I was naive. I was a traditionally published author before this, and sales tend to be very huge at launch, where you get maximal display on the HOT NEW RELEASES shelves, and bookstores give you front table space. So you make most of your sales in the first few months of your launch. I remember during one Xmas, I sold 100 books in one bookstore alone and climbed to the No. 2 of their bestseller charts.

Then after a while, your books get relegated to other shelves, and sales taper off. So it's all about frontage for traditionally published print books.

I indie published because I heard so much about it from Joe Konrath and Amanda Hocking. So I decided to try it. My first book that I indie published was SNOW WHITE AND THE ALIEN. I was avidly watching sales every day and being a nervous wreck about it. Finally, I couldn't bear putting all my eggs in one book, so I released 2 more novels and several short stories from my traditionally published backlist. All this happened within 2 months. I diversified in many genres - YA fantasy, romantic comedy, horror, erotica - just to see what would take off.

My sales look like this:

Aug (1 week): 14
Sept: 44
Oct: 332 (as of time of writing, Oct 21st)

I soon discovered what took off quickly - erotica! I wrote several short stories under another pen name, and all within 6 hours each. I charged $2.99 for a 5500-word story, and they still sold! I diversified my platforms - I sold not only on Amazon and Smashwords, but All Romance Ebooks and Bookstrand. As a result, I made many sales on many sources.

My other books might take off later, or they mightn't take off at all. All I know is I didn't stop writing. I learned to do my own professional looking covers for several bucks each, using Dreamstime and Fotolia. As a result, I learned to keep production costs down. I never turned my back on traditional publishing either. I'm in the midst of submitting manuscripts to agents even now (since I parted ways with my old agent a long time ago). My longtime friend and beta-reader just got a $100K Big Six book deal on a book I helped her with, and so I truly believe we should diversify even on those channels - trad publishing and indie!

It can be done!

So all this is what I learned so far, and I wanted to share it with all of you. It's not all this or all that. Open your mind, and soon you'll find your niche.

Please visit my blog at http://artemishunt.blogspot.com/ for more stories :)

FREE!

The Ether World Chronicles: Beginnings is now FREE on Amazon!

Get it here!

http://www.amazon.com/Ether-World-Chronicles-Beginnings-ebook/dp/B005MYA5EA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1316130568&sr=1-1

Interview with Lyrical reviews!

http://lyricalreviewsya.blogspot.com/2011/10/interview-artemis-hunt.html

Today I have the lovely Artemis Hunt on my blog to provide the As to my Qs about her book Snow White and the Alien which I reviewed earlier this month. It's a great story and you can read my full review here.

How would you describe Snow White and the Alien in a tweet (140 characters)?

Tangled meets the Day the Earth Stood Still!

Where did the idea for Snow White and the Alien come from?

Emmm... from Tangled actually. I loved (100X) the movie, and immediately wanted to write an updated version of a fairytale. Then I began to wonder how these medieval folks would cope with an alien invasion....I mean, we modern folks would have difficulty coping with one, talk about people who have only pitchforks and swords!

It hasn't been done before, and I hope I succeeded.

Snow White has undergone somewhat of a character overhaul from her fairytale origins. How did you go about creating the characters of Snow White and Aein?

I studied the original Grimm fairytales. There are plenty of sites for that. Did you know the original versions which led to the Grimm collections are very, very dark?

I don't really like the character of the original Snow White. She was too passive, and she was only 7 years old! I like active characters, who seize opportunities and are in charge of their lives and events around them.

Since Aein was an alien, I immediately set out to make the reader empathize with him. (You be the judge if that worked, but a lot of readers tell me it did!) I made him an underdog in his own world, crippled, but determined to rise above his disabilities. We all can identify with characters like that.

Then of course I morphed him biologically in a chrysalis into a gorgeous youth in our world. We all can identify with desiring someone like that too!

What kind of research did you undertake to write Snow White and the Alien? Did you find out anything particularly interesting?

The fact that all the original stories (around Europe) that led to the legend of Snow White were really dark. There's a version of the dead princess in a glass coffin in almost every European country.

When and why did you decide to take the plunge and self publish your book? Did you always plan to publish it?

I took the plunge 2 months ago. I wanted to try self-publishing, thanks to Joe Konrath! If I didn't try, I would never know, right?

In the meantime, I queried Snow White as well. I told myself if I didn't get a 50% hit rate, I'd self-publish it. I didn't get a 50% hit rate, so here it is. (I actually got 20%). I have still some requests pending that I didn't fulfill because the book is already out on Amazon.

Is Snow White your favourite fairytale?

Hmmm....I think that would be Cinderella. But where Disney movies are concerned, it's Tangled.

What is the story behind the cover?

It's my (agented) friend and beta's idea! She wanted a Twilight vibe, but to suggest it's different from Twilight, there's no apple but a moth in the girl's hands. Any sort of insect is very significant in my story.

If you had room on your shelf for only 3 books, what would they be?

Haha, I'd just buy a computer (which I have), and put it on my shelf! That way I'll have 1000 books!

I've stopped reading physical copies already. I'm a bit of an environmentalist. But if I have a shelf for only 3 books, I would cram The Blind Assassin, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the first Harry Potter.

Apart from Snow White and the Alien, what is your top teen fiction recommendation from 2011?

From 2011 itself? Oh dear, I'm still catching up with the older publications. I'm reading Wither by Lauren DeStefano. I read Incarceron by Catherine Fisher but wasn't in love with the characters.

Do you have any hints for what we can expect from the next book?

In the Snow White canon? An all-out alien invasion, and how the medieval people must employ their wits to cope with it! Snow White, being the rightful ruler of her kingdom, must lead the assault, and Aein must decide whether his allegiances lie with the woman he loves, Snow White, or his own beloved family and people.

I love conflict!

But my next book is part of my Ether World Chronicles series. It's called The Hunt for the Catalyst, a completely original contemporary YA fantasy. It will be released within the next month. I hope you will consider reviewing it too.

I certainly would! A huge thanks to Artemis for doing the interview and I hope you enjoyed it.

Author Spotlight Interview!

I'm particularly stoked about this one because this is from my friend and beta-reader. And an incredible beta she is!

http://lydiakang.blogspot.com/2011/10/author-spotlight-artemis-hunt-and-her.html

Author Spotlight: Artemis Hunt and Her Hot Alien

Hello all! I'm so happy to say I have one of my crit partners here for the Author Spotlight. Artemis Hunt (her pen name) has several books out right now. But first, the all important interview questions!

The Writing Process: How do you plot, if you’re a plotter, and how do you revise?

I'm an obsessive outliner. I outline everything, and then I show my beta. She tears through it :) (*That's me, yep, the Tear-orizer*) Then I repair what she doesn't like.

I begin to write chapter by chapter based on the outline. I get new ideas, and then the outline changes slightly, but not for the major plot points. I show chapter by chapter to my beta. She tears through them. I pick up the broken pieces.

Wash, rinse, repeat.

The Publishing Process: If you decided to self-publish, what was the final push that allowed that decision?

I really, really wanted to try it. I was reading about how many copies indie publishers sold vs when they were traditionally published, and I wanted to at least try one book while querying other books. I was a traditionally published short story collection author before this, and I had great success in the traditional publishing field. My short story collection shot up to No. 2 in the bestselling lists. I had great traction. One of my stories was serialized in a newspaper.

So I believe in the traditional publishing concept. But I also recognize the world is changing and I want to give indie e-publishing a try.

I still have agent requests on this book out there that I haven't sent. (They get so many I'm sure they won't remember whether I sent it in or not, haha!) I don't regret it so far. In my first 9 days, I sold 17 copies.

Writing Miscellany: Is there a different genre you might like to try and write someday?

I actually do write in different genres. SNOW WHITE is a fantasy/sci-fi/romance (YA). My short stories, soon to be re-released in the Kindle e-book form, are thriller/horror. Another of my finished manuscripts is a paranormal chick lit.

Random or Weird question: Do you believe in aliens?

Since I totally wrote about a drop-dead handsome one who visits Earth in order to colonize it, and ends up falling in love with Snow White, even if he thinks she's downright ugly (!), I think I do believe in them!

Jeanz Book Reviews interview!

OMG, I completely missed this interview!

http://jeanzbookreadnreview.blogspot.com/2011/09/author-interview-artemis-hunt.html

AUTHOR INTERVIEW - ARTEMIS HUNT

1. What is your name, where were you born and where do you live now?

Artemis Hunt. I was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and I live there now. But my husband has an address in Florida, and we go to the US sometimes once or twice a year. I work for a giant multinational US/Swiss company with one of its HQs in South San Francisco, and was thinking of transferring there.

2. What is the name of your latest book, and if you had to summarise it in less than 20 words what would you say?
 
My latest novel is SNOW WHITE AND THE ALIEN.
 

Hunted by her wicked stepmother, Snow White, a beautiful girl with the ability to talk to bugs, encounters a handsome alien sent to pave our world for colonization.

I just launched a collection of 3 short stories yesterday called THE ETHER WORLD CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS. It's a compendium to a soon to be launched YA Fantasy novel called THE HUNT FOR THE CATALYST. It's about telekinesis, demons and passion . . . though not in that order.

3. Do you have plans for a new book? Is this book part of a series?

THE HUNT FOR THE CATALYST has already been written and is part of my ETHER WORLD CHRONICLES YA  Fantasy series. It's something I'm very proud of. I have so much to write and so little time! 

I have also written a chick lit novel called THE BODYSNATCHER WEARS LIPSTICK. It has been written into a screenplay and optioned by a film company called Desert Wine Productions.


4. How long have you been writing?, and who or what inspired you to write?

Since I was 2, I think! I wrote 'graphic novels' on white paper. It was always part of me. 


5. Do you gift books to readers to do reviews? 

I have only tried that once. The rest of my reviews have come from Amazon Verified Purchases. But I would love to.


6. How do you come up with the Title and Cover Designs for your book/books?Who designed the Cover of your books? 

I came up with my own cover ideas. SNOW WHITE was designed by Telemachus Press, the ones who did all of John Locke's covers. I designed and made the rest of the covers myself. I'm very proud of this because two weeks ago, I knew squat all about making my own book cover! 

I would love to show everyone THE HUNT FOR THE CATALYST's cover. Everyone thinks it's gorgeous! I can't stop staring at it myself! The art was done by Phatpuppy Designs, the ones who do a lot of Amanda Hocking's covers.


7. Have you ever based characters on people you know or based events on things that have happened to you?

I tried, but it was too painful! That's why most of my books are fantasy.


8. Is there a certain Author that influenced you in writing? 

Hmmm....I love reading plenty of authors, but influenced by them? No. I think I have my own style, for better or for worse. I've always been told that my voice and sense of humor is distinctive.

9. Which format of book do you prefer, ebook,hardback, or paperback?

Definitely e-book. I'm an environmentalist.

10. What is your favourite book and Why?  Have you read it more than once?

I would say I read Sidney Sheldon's If Tomorrow Comes more than 10 times when I was 16! I know, I know...but I loved it!


11. Do you think books transfer to movies well? Which is you favourite/worst  book to movie transfer?

Yes. The best book to movie transfer is Harry Potter 7.2. I was amazed!

Worst? Harry Potter 6. I was actually bored by the movie, or maybe it's because I saw it on a plane.


12. What are you currently reading? Are you enjoying it? What format is it?(ebook, hardback or paperback) 

Wither. E-format. It's very good!


13. Is there a book you know you will never read? Or one you tried to read but just couldn't finish?

I'm having trouble with the Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.

14. Are there any New Authors you are interested in for us to watch out for? and Why should we watch out for them?

I would like everyone to watch out for my beta, Lydia Kang. I love her writing style. She's got an incredible voice! I don't think you will see her for another year or so, because she's on submission. Traditional style.

I'm so proud to have helped beta her books. She's also my beta, and a very tough beta she is!

15. Is there anything in your book/books you would change now if you could and what would it be? 

One of my friends complained he found the beginning of SNOW WHITE to be a bit slow. I asked him to be brutally honest. But I got rave reviews on it too, so most people seem to be OK with it. I guess I would change that, if anything.


16. What do you think about book trailers?

I love watching them. I wish I could afford them, but I can't! 


17. What piece of advice would you give to a new writer? 

For an indie? Make sure you have an arsenal of manuscripts before you launch. For someone who desires to be traditionally published? Make sure you write that query letter well!


18. Do you or would you ever use a pen name?

Artemis Hunt is a pen name. With a name like that, I could only have been an author, a stripper or a goddess in disguise. Ha ha ha! But with agents, I use my real name.

19. Where can readers follow you?

Your blog details?   http://artemishunt.blogspot.com/
Your web site ?  www.artemushunt.org
Your facebook page?  I have only a private one.
Your Goodreads author page?  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5156334.Artemis_Hunt
Your Twitter details?  ArtemisHunt1 . Please follow me!
And any other information you wish to supply?

I looove feedback, so please drop by one of my pages and write to me if you can.