Today we get the opportunity to share an interview with author Holly Ward. Holly’s second book Cursed was released on August 28th. It features the heroine character Ivy Taylor who appeared in her first book Demon Kissed (which has sold 10,000+ copies). Holly Ward is a self published author and I found her interview to be quite interesting. Of course she talks about her books, but also the reasons why she opted to be self published. Before we get to her interview, here is a quick book description of the book Cursed: The Valefar boy tricked Ivy Taylor into kissing him, but he took much more than a kiss… Ivy’s on her way to kick ass and save Collin from the horrors of the Underworld. Along the way she discovers that the truth won’t set her free. Deep-seated deception leads Ivy closer to her destiny. But, being queen of the demons is not the destiny she wants. Ivy will have to overcome lust, power, love and an ancient prophecy if she wants to survive.
Interview with Holly Ward
1. What was unique about the setting of the book and how did it enhance or take away from the story?
One of the things that excited me the most about writing CURSED (DEMON KISSED #2) was the setting. About two-thirds of the story takes place in Hell. Yup, Hell, as in the Underworld. I had to dream up exactly what that would be like and what challenges the characters would encounter. And since nobody’s gone to Hell and returned to tell us all about it, I got to make up whatever I wanted! It was a lot of fun.
2. What specific themes did the author emphasize throughout the novel? What do you think he or she is trying to get across to the reader?
The dominant themes in CURSED (DEMON KISSED #2) are perseverance and survival. The heroine, Ivy Taylor, has her life ripped out of her hands. She loses everything – her sister, her mom, her home. Her enemies, the half-human half-demon Valefar won’t stop until they capture her. The novel tracks her progress in accepting her losses and dealing with the person she is becoming. This is a book that teens relate easily to because so many things in their lives are dictated by someone else. Socially, teens are caught in the middle where they are too young for some things and too old for others. Teens are neither adults nor children, and it can be very frustrating at times. They can feel trapped, like the heroine in CURSED (DEMON KISSED #2). I think that is a huge reason why DEMON KISSED hit the bestseller lists and quickly sold over 10,000 copies – everyone can relate to a character who feels trapped, whose life is splitting at the seams.
3. Do the characters seem real and believable? Can you relate to their predicaments? To what extent do they remind you of yourself or someone you know?
The concept of the DEMON KISSED series (CURSED is the second book in the series) is something that really appeals to me, because it sounds like a total nightmare. The series has the allure of watching a train wreck from the comfort of your couch. One of the main themes in the series is predestination, which simply means that it doesn’t matter what the character does, she is on a crash course with a specific destiny. She can’t change it. In other words she has no control over her life. Add in one classic control freak as the heroine, and things get interesting. I can totally relate to the heroine, Ivy Taylor, because we have the same personality type. I wouldn’t accept her fate either, no matter what happened.
4. How do characters change or evolve throughout the course of the story? What events trigger such changes?
The characters in CURSED (DEMON KISSED #2) change drastically in this book. Some of them were forced to change, while others changed of their own will. While the reader can see Ivy learning to deal with her fate over the course of book 1 & 2, it’s the supporting characters that change the most radically in CURSED. The events that spur these changes evolve from a few thoughtless words uttered to the wrong person, to a deadly demon kiss that strips the soul from the body.
8. What research did you have to perform to back up your story? Any research which really opened your eyes or gave you new respect for a topic or profession?
I researched the catacombs in preparation for writing CURSED (DEMON KISSED #2). Most of my research was about the tombs located under Rome. I’d read about them in passing previously, but didn’t realize how much Christianity affected the creation of the catacombs. Before that, most people were cremated, but when Christianity became the national religion of Rome, people’s bodies were preserved due to the belief in the second coming. I realized tombs and burial rituals have changed over the centuries, but it’s interesting because it reveals how an ancient culture viewed the afterlife. I also love art, and some of the oldest depictions of Mary are located in the catacombs. I’m a theological nerd. I love learning about what people believe and why.
9. What is your method for writing a book? A certain amount of hours every day? A certain routine? Are you character/story builder or an outliner or some other method?
When I was in high school, I would have rather shoved a pencil through my eye than make a creativity-stunting outline. I thought it hindered my creative process to be locked into something so formal. My brain doesn’t exactly work in a linear fashion either, so outlines seemed like trying to stick a round brain in a square hole. It fits, but it’s kind of messy and doesn’t really squish the way I want. Well, no outline works fine for shorter things, like something less than 30,000 words, but once I was writing more than that, the plot got garbled without the outline. So, I confess; CURSED was outlined in full and then I wrote out each scene. It helped the flow and kept the plot in place. It also made it much easier to write. I know, right? Me, outline stuff? Yup, I did! And to make sure my creativity wasn’t hindered, I allowed myself to drift from the outline if I came up with awesome ideas while writing. That happened most when I was describing things in Hell. I have a particular dislike of grackles, so they were thrown in the outline as evil birds that live in Hell. But, while I was writing a scene with the demon birds, I created the Lorren. It’s a golden tomb that looks like a path paved with sapphires. It’s something that’s exquisitely beautiful, standing in stark contrast to its dismal surroundings. The Lorren, what it looks like, and what it does (yes, it’s evil) was all dreamed up while writing and I worked it into the existing outline.
Tell us more about your experience with self-publishing?
About a year ago I started writing DEMON KISSED. I had no intention of publishing it, I just wrote it for me. The overarching theme of this series is fate. With my theological training, the idea of predestination was always intriguing. And that’s pretty much what’s happening in the book. The main character, Ivy Taylor, is on a crash course to receive a life that she doesn’t want.
Last fall I completed the book and sent it to literary agents to see what would happen. Almost immediately I had multiple offers of representation. I chose an agent and we pressed forward, submitting DEMON KISSED to all the big boys in publishing. After a few months, I realized that traditional publishing wasn’t for me. I’m kind of a control freak and handing over complete control to someone else didn’t sound appealing.
So, I decided to self-publish. I just didn’t see what traditional publishing had to offer me. By the time I decided to go on my own, DEMON KISSED already had 30,000 facebook fans (www.facebook.com/demonkissed). And I’m a professional photographer for the affluent, so I could and did shoot my own covers. Those are the main two things that self-published authors fear – having an ugly/ ineffective cover which taints sales, and no one buying their book. It’s not unusual for self-published authors to sell around 100 books and that’s it. With the DEMON KISSED fan base, I didn’t have that issue. To date, DEMON KISSED has sold over 10,000 copies. And the fans are dying to get their hands on CURSED which was released on August 31, 2011 and is already on bestseller lists.
I’ve had a lot of fun self-publishing. The literary market is in a state of flux, and this allows me to try new things that aren’t really conducive to publishing traditionally. It also gave me freedom from a system that’s in the “adapt or die” phase of life. With ebooks on the rise and brick and mortar stores like Borders closing, self-pubbing is a good place for me to be.
Thanks to all the fans who hung with me! Your support is amazing and I couldn’t have done it without you!
DEMON SERIES:
DEMON KISSED (Book 1)
CURSED (Book 2)
TORN (Book 3 Winter 2011)
CURSED DESCRIPTION:
The Valefar boy tricked Ivy Taylor into kissing him, but he took much more than a kiss… Ivy’s on her way to kick ass and save Collin from the horrors of the Underworld. Along the way she discovers that the truth won’t set her free. Deep-seated deception leads Ivy closer to her destiny. But, being queen of the demons is not the destiny she wants. Ivy will have to overcome lust, power, love and an ancient prophecy if she wants to survive.
DEMON KISSED DESCRIPTION:
The Valefar boy tricked Ivy Taylor into kissing him, but he took much more than a kiss – he stole her soul and left her within inches of death. By surviving, Ivy is drawn into the conflict between the Martis and the Valefar. The war between these two immortal forces has raged for millennia without distraction. Until now. Ivy is an anomaly—she is the only person who has ever walked away from a demon kiss alive. Her survival gives her unique and deadly abilities. Too powerful to ignore, Ivy is a threat to both armies. These two ancient enemies will stop at nothing to kill the seventeen-year-old. Surviving is nothing new for headstrong Ivy, but her survival has never depended on another person before. This time it does. And if she misplaces her trust, she’s dead. To her horror, she starts falling in love at the worst possible time—with the enemy. He appears to be protecting her. But she can’t be certain if he is trying to help her, or help himself to her power. For Ivy, trusting the right person is the difference between love and survival, or a deadly demon kiss.DEMON KISSED Amazon link: On sale for $0.99 (reg. Price $3.99)
Official Demon Kissed Website: www.DemonKissed.com
Official Demon Kissed Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/DemonKissed
Holly’s Blog: http://sublimeromantic.wordpress.com/
The next book in this series TORN is scheduled to be released Winter 2011.
