Use Me

Camelot & Vine has hit the big time! I'm dealing with some of the same issues that the big New York publishers deal with!

23 cents may seem cheap. But wait. Here's Diana Gabaldon's huge hit, Outlander:

I doubt she minds. Her book has been made into a big cable TV hit, with gorgeous stars and gorgeous countryside and gorgeous costumes and gorgeous gorgeousness.

I don't mind, either. After all, if they're selling it used, then it had to get used in the first place. And look at this, at the end of the Camelot & Vine used sales list. 

What? I mean, what? Do people pay that kind of money for a used paperback? Not unless it's a first edition, signed by Dylan Thomas. People don't even pay this kind of money for a new hardback. So I wonder what the motivation is behind this pricing. It's certainly not sales.

The Next Big Thing

Litfest Pasadena, 2012

I've been tagged by best-selling thriller author and former Pasadenamanian Dianne Emley to participate in "The Next Big Thing," an internet meme where authors share what they're working on. Big thank you to Dianne! She's been a friend to PDP since the beginning, and was the first author I profiled here.

The deal is I answer a set of questions about my novel, Camelot & Vine, then tag someone else to answer the same questions about their book next week on their own site or blog. Here we go:

1. Where did the idea come from for the book?
Some years ago I spent most of a summer in England, studying acting at Oxford. I fell in love with the country, its ancient architecture, history, and legends.

2. What genre does your book fall under?
I'd call it "historical time travel adventure." There's no such genre officially, but not every book fits a genre. A bookstore would probably shelve Camelot & Vine under general fiction, or maybe even fantasy.

3. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Update: We decided in comments not to reveal this, because people will picture the characters their own way. Although if you read the comments you'll see who I picture as King Arthur.

4. What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?
A failing Hollywood actress heals her past and finds her future when she falls through a gap in time and lands in a Dark Ages war camp, accidentally saving King Arthur's life.

5. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I'm publishing the book under my own label, Boz Books.

6. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
The first draft only took a few months. The other drafts took forEVER.

7. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
The closest thing I can think of is Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. There's no "onstage" sex in Camelot & Vine, though, so if you want sex with your time travel, Gabaldon is a must-read.

8. Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I have a strong desire to visit ancient times, to really see history, and I wondered what it would have been like to know someone like King Arthur, had he existed. Because I can never know, I immersed myself in 500 A.D., studying it and visualizing it as completely as I could.

9. What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?
I set most of the story atop Cadbury Hill, an iron age hillfort in the Somerset region of England. Legend says Cadbury was "Camallate." There's archaeological evidence of an early sixth century settlement on the hill, with a wall, a great hall and a church. We don't know if King Arthur existed, but if he did, the Cadbury settlement would fit. Using real places and real history made the story feel authentic to me.

That's the Q&A. With this Saturday's Bookmarks on PDP, I'll introduce you to Kate Wong, the talented artist who designed Camelot & Vine. We're going to reveal the cover!

My final task with "The Next Big Thing is to introduce you to Kat Ward. Kat is the owner, editor, and head writer at Hometown Pasadena. She's also a novelist. Her "Next Big Thing" post goes up next Wednesday, January 23rd. Be sure and visit her.