Title: The Final Omen
Author: Heather Topham Wood
Series: Second Sight #2
Date of Publication: November 9th, 2013
Genre(s): New Adult, Paranormal Romance
**To know more about the book and the author check this blogpost. **
Here's an interview with the author, Heather Topham Wood
The Final Omen
is the last book in your series, are you sad to say goodbye to the characters?
Absolutely! There should be some
sort of support group for authors that have to say goodbye to their beloved
characters. I’m definitely glad to have completed the series, but I can’t say
for sure Kate’s story is over. I’ve outlined a potential spin-off series
featuring Kate and her psychic partner Declan.
How
exciting! What would the books be about?
They would be standalone novels
that would each feature a single missing persons case that Declan and Kate
would solve together. The books would have dual POVs: Declan’s and Kate’s.
Any
other upcoming projects?
I have a new release coming in
December from Crescent Moon Press called
Memory Witch, so I’m starting the sequel this month. I’m also in the
process of writing a New Adult contemporary romance called Falling for Autumn. The complete Second Sight series will also be released soon as a boxed set.
Have
you found the publishing experience a lot different working with a traditional
publishing house?
Yes and I think there’s pros and
cons with traditional publishing and self-publishing. With traditional
publishing, you’re basically handing over your novel and telling a publisher to
go have fun with it. You have less control when it comes to marketing, cover
art, editing, etc. Not to say your input isn’t welcomed, but they are making the
final decisions. However, self-publishing means you have to either do most of
the work yourself or pay a team to do it for you. Editing, proofreading, cover
design and formatting services are pricey, but required if you want a polished
book.
Where
do you find your inspiration for your works?
I am the biggest bookworm in the
world. I read an average of three books a week and if my schedule allowed it,
I’d probably double that amount. I love getting lost in a romantic scene in a
novel and then feeling inspired to tackle a love scene in my own works. Besides
fictional characters, I’m inspired by the characters in my life. My friends and
family are always popping up in secondary roles in my books. Since not everyone
would appreciate a gag reel of their most embarrassing moments, I change all of
the names and identifying characteristics.
What’s
your favorite book?
This question always makes me
skittish because it’s so hard to nail down a “favorite.” Pride & Prejudice is my classic pick, but a more recent read I’d
choose as my favorite would be Unravel Me
by Tahreh Mafi. Mafi has such a unique literary voice and I love her world building.
What’s
the hardest challenge you face as an author?
Finding the time to write is very
difficult for me. I’m a mom first and foremost and I have to often put my work
on the backburner often for my boys. They are still young (six and four) and
although I’d love to spend more time writing, I know I’ll never get this time
with them back.
What’s
the biggest perk of being an author?
I LOVE hearing from readers. Any
time I open my inbox and read something from a reader, I get a little giddy.
It’s amazing to hear that these little stories in your brain touched someone in
some way. Each book I write is so different and I love hearing if I made
someone laugh, cry or swoon.
Any
advice for new and aspiring authors?
Don’t put a lot of pressure on
yourself. I’m my worst critic and it can often take the fun out of writing. I
would read reviews and try to puzzle out ways to please every single reader
that picks it up. Your book may not be perfect, but you wrote a freakin’ book!
How cool is that?
This is a guest post by the author of The Final Omen
Topic: How To Avoid Epic Book Fails
The
Final Omen: Second Sight Book Four
was the one for me—the book that would have me banging my head against the
walls and questioning why I ever decided to print my stories for the world to
see. Every possible book related catastrophe has plagued me since I began
writing the novel and I hope to share some of my insight to prevent the same
fate from befalling other writers.
I’ve got a MacBook now, it’s all
good…
After my Windows computer went
wonky on me and contracted some sort of zombie virus, I decided to save up my
pennies and upgrade to a MacBook. The Apple brand gave me a fall sense of
security, as if nothing ever bad could happen to my livelihood if I used a
MacBook. So very freaking wrong! One hard drive crash later, I was left
scrambling to try and find a data recovery firm who could get my precious novel
off of the MacBook. When it didn’t work, I was forced to work off of a partial
copy I had emailed myself a month earlier. This disaster led me to discover the
wonders of Dropbox: an online document storage system that every writer should
have installed on their computer.
My editor is the shizzel, I can’t
wait to hear her thoughts on my final book…
A month past my expected
publication date, I had finally managed to recreate The Final Omen as best to my ability as I could. I was all set to
send my manuscript to my editor when all of a sudden her email address isn’t
working. I go to her Elance page and it’s gone. No!!!! Since we only
communicated via email, I had no way to track her down. This meant I had to
start over with a completely new editor who hadn’t read or worked on the three
previous books in the series. My point is that don’t assume anything. In
hindsight, I should’ve worked out the editing details way in advance.
I can do it all on my own! I
don’t need any help!
I bit off way more than I could
chew with The Final Omen. I lost a
month’s worth of work and tried to cut corners to get the book out on time. It
was a bad call on my part and I finally had to take a step back and ask for help.
Since my original cover art was lost on my computer, I tried to redo the cover
using a small file I saved online. It was frustrating and time-consuming and I
finally scraped it altogether and hired a cover artist. The end result? A cover
that I love! I’m not a graphic artist or a formatter and I learned that
although doing these things myself could save a few bucks, it’s not worth the
headache.
When you’re a writer, it’s a
constant learning experience. As crazed as I may have been because of these issues,
I’m sort of glad they happened. It’ll make the process of publishing my next
novel much easier.
To win one e-book copy of First Visions, the first book of the series enter in the following giveaway!
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