About a month ago now, I reviewed Moroda and loved it! I can’t wait for the next book in the series, and so decided to pick L.L. MacRae’s brain a bit about herself as an author, Moroda, and the series going forward.
What made you want to become an author?
I’ve always loved words and writing, especially fantasy. As a child, I’d constantly be writing stories or dreaming up characters and loved any story I could get my hands on – be it books, video games, films, television…
Making a living writing was therefore a dream of mine, and as a Copywriter I’m lucky enough to be able to fulfill that dream. But there is quite a difference between writing copy for someone else and writing your own fiction! I guess it was something I was born wanting to do!
What books or authors inspired you most when writing Moroda?
I didn’t have much inspiration from books or authors when I wrote Moroda, actually. I grew up playing Final Fantasy, and so I’ve been quite heavily influenced by that series, and all the people who contributed to it. I wrote most of Moroda to the soundtrack of FFIX, so if you can call music an influence, it certainly inspired me to write about 90% of the novel!
Who are your favourite authors? And do you have any favourite books?
Oh gosh, I have quite a few! Right now I’m completely gushing over Strange the Dreamer (to anyone reading this – PLEASE BUY AND READ THIS BOOK!!). Laini Taylor writes such utterly beautiful prose, it’s like a music all its own!! I also adored Six of Crows and I’m a huge fan of A Song of Ice and Fire, The Name of the Wind and Wise Man’s Fear. I suppose anything with a wide, sweeping narrative, incredible world building, and compelling, morally grey characters.
How many books do you think will be part of the Linaria series?
There’ll be six books in the main series and several standalone / spin-off novellas. I’ve not quite decided how many of those there’ll be!
Did you research a lot for Moroda? How do you go about researching for a book?
Yes, I had to do research on all types of things, from cities and castles, geography, even blacksmithing and forging swords! Google is fantastic, but forums are great because you find experts there who know all the little details that a generic Google search might miss.
How fast or slow was the writing process for Moroda? As it’s your debut, did this meet your expectations?
It was much slower than I’d have liked! I had the original idea for Moroda back when I was sixteen, but never really did anything with it. I’ve participated in NaNo for a number of years, and in 2014 I decided to use this idea I’d had (it was nameless at the time) and see what happened.
I wrote the 50,000 words in November 2014 and continued writing until I completed the first draft in April 2015, at a little over 75,000 words. From then until it was published in April 2017, I was editing it. During the editing, I took almost a year out after some pretty big changes in my personal life, which slowed the process down quite significantly.
In general, procrastination tends to slow things down for me!
I didn’t really have any expectations! I hoped to sell a few copies and now I’m quite a bit over 100! I get butterflies every time I see someone reading it or if a review or rating is left. I guess I’d just really like for that to continue for book two and beyond!
Were there any real-life influences within Moroda? Whether that’s people or places?
There were a few specific people but mostly many parts of many people amalgamated into many characters, behaviours, beliefs etc. Those who are very close to me might spot one or two instances of this, but in general it’s pretty vague and there aren’t super close resemblances!
As far as places… if you’ve ever been to Austria (the Alps in particular) then that is Val Sharis brought to life! The mountains, sweeping valleys, crystal clear lakes are awe-inspiring.
What made you decide to self-publish? What benefits do you see from self-publishing?
My plan was always to go the traditional method of publishing – or certainly attempt it! However, a little before Christmas 2016, I realised that I’d worked in Marketing for several years and could probably do everything a publisher would do as far as ads, general marketing, and PR. Even if I was to sign with an agent, there was still no guarantee a publisher would take me on, and even if they did, it could be the best part of eighteen months / two years before my book was on the shelf. Not only that, but there could be extensive changes before they’d accept it.
Given my skillset and contacts, I thought I would give it a go myself. I’d keep full creative control, earn higher royalties, and have real flexibility! So far it’s going pretty well!
Benefits are clear in control and payment – you can’t really compare earning 70% per eBook sold and almost 50% per paperback sold when you have to give publisher, agent, distributor a cut! You’re also free of a contract. You can publish anywhere you desire, create any book swag you desire, attend whichever conventions you desire, change the pricing as you see fit, create your own promotions, etc. The benefits are huge! I think the time of agents and the big publishing houses being the only gatekeepers to getting your book out there is coming to an end.
I know you’re writing the second book in the Linaria series, do you have any ideas/ongoing projects for books outside the series?
The main Linaria series is taking up about 60% of my writing time at the moment. I’m also working on some spin-off novellas to add to the series, but which also work as complete stand-alones. That’s the other 40%. I always have ideas knocking around, but between working full time (including long commutes), reading, and editing, my writing time is quite limited so I have to focus on one project at a time.
Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
Don’t give up! If you have the writing bug, it’ll always be with you. Prioritise your writing and dedicate time to it – be it an hour in the evening or the morning, every day, without question. Join a writer’s group so you can give and receive peer reviews and critiques. Accept that your writing will be flawed, and collaborate with others so you can work out your weaknesses and overcome them!
What books are on your reading list at the moment?
Oh my goodness, far too many! I’m currently reading The Lies of Locke Lamora, which is amazing, and American Pastoral, for my book club. Next to read will be The Shadow of What Was Lost, The Mistborn Series by Brandon Sanderson, and the Magician Series by Trudi Canavan.
After that, I’ll probably have a read of The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (my choice for the book club) and then perhaps The Faithful and the Fallen Series (Malice, Valour, Ruin, Wrath) by John Gwynne, or make a start on Robin Hobb’s Farseer Trilogy!
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Comments
3 responses to “Meet the Author: L.L. MacRae”
Pretty cool, I like the idea of writing to music
Yeah it seems really interesting! I’ve gotta try it sometime!
Loved this interview and her reasons for going the self-pub route!