Today’s post is a double feature of fantastical proportions! I have for you, not only a look into the conception of Draykon; a superbly entertaining fantasy, but also a chance to win Draykon and its newly released sequel Lokant.

Whether you have a kindle, nook, kobo… or just read on your tablet/cell phone/computer… it doesn’t matter! We’ll make sure the winners receive copies of the books in the format of their choice.

In case you missed it, you can read my review of Draykon.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

“Shy jeweller Llandry Sanfaer finds herself at the centre of a sensation when she discovers a new and mesmerising gemstone. When some of her customers are killed for their coveted istore jewellery, Llandry is propelled into danger herself. As her mother’s friend Eva Glostrum races to unmask the murderer, Llandry must uncover the true nature of the stone before she too becomes a victim. 

a guest post by Charlotte E. English (author)

Charlotte E. English

It has been almost exactly a year since I began working on the book that eventually became my high fantasy mystery story, Draykon. I’ve always wanted to be a novelist, but it wasn’t until late December, 2010, that I wrote the first words of the story that would become my first completed, published novel.

At the time, I wasn’t aware of the building e-book revolution, as it’s now being called. I’d only just purchased a Kindle in the previous month, and I hadn’t got to grips with all the possibilities that it opened up to me. At that time, then, creating a novel still meant that I was facing the long drudgery of submitting the manuscript to agents and hoping really hard to get a publishing deal. Someday.

That prospect has always been a check on my creativity. I positively dreaded the endless round of trying to write the perfect query letter for each agent, sending off my novel again and again and counting up the rejection letters. Even if I was very lucky and got an agent and subsequently a publisher, I knew it could take years before my first book reached bookstores, and I couldn’t expect to be paid anything worthwhile. Not an attractive prospect, is it?

So I started writing that novel just as a hobby. It didn’t even have a title until about six months later. I spent an hour or so on it every evening, curled up under my duvet with a notebook and pen, writing purely for my own entertainment and fun. I didn’t think about what might be popular or what might sell. I certainly didn’t think about what agents or publishers might be interested in. I just wrote what I wanted.

The result, then, was something of a surprise. I instinctively took the essences of my two favourite genres – fantasy and mystery – and threw them into the pot. In went some nuggets of English social history, another strong interest of mine, to flavour and colour the worlds I was building. I mixed all of that up with a bottle of whimsy, a pinch of romance, and a measure or two of humour.

That colourful mixture spent nine months bubbling in the writing cauldron. Draykon was the concoction that emerged: a fast-paced mystery story set against a backdrop of fairytale beauty, and powered by two very different female characters. It’s a very personal story. If I had to sell the concept to an agent, I expect the attempt would fall completely flat; there are no current trends I could relate it to, no major author (that I know of) with whose work I could draw clear comparisons.

Which brings me back to the question of publishing in general. How did I end up self-publishing? Around springtime of 2011 the world in general realised that indie authors could actually make a living. This was a huge revelation to me. I could finish my novel, and potentially gain an audience for it without having to subject myself to the soul-destroying, time-consuming, labour-intensive and essentially humiliating experience of querying agents. I’ve always preferred to be in charge of my own destiny, so the prospect of having to do all the work myself was no barrier for me; on the contrary it was more of an attraction.

And indie publishing really is a lot of work. Editing, proofreading, cover art, formatting, book blurbs, promotion and so on… all these things are solely the responsibility of the author and it is a huge burden. If we aim to produce a fully professional product then none of these things can be omitted or skimped on. But it’s worth it, a hundred times over. And much of it can be more fun that one might think.

The prospect of indie publishing gave me the drive to finish Draykon. I’m still at the beginning of the self-publishing journey, and building an audience by slow degrees; but it’s happening. I’ve now added a second novel to my list of titles, and just looking at that achievement and knowing that readers are enjoying my work makes it all worthwhile.

Thank you for reading about the Draykon process. If you’d like to get in touch with me, feel free to visit my blog at http://www.charlotteenglish.com/, add @charlottenglish on Twitter or look me up on Goodreads!

To celebrate the release of Lokant, the second book in the series, Charlotte is giving away three sets of the books. This means you have three chances to win the set of two books. (The books will be in the ebook format of your choice.)

The Contest

The contest will be open until 11:59AM MDT, December 17th, 2011. At which point three winners will be chosen.   

How to Enter

GOOD LUCK!