New Adult Sci-Fi
Date Published: May 14, 2018
A science Fiction novel tangled in the psychology of being human and the vulnerability of an unconventional Love story
Grace was born a storyteller with a beautifully brilliant mind. Trauma twisted her reality into its own tale of darkness. Now, at eighteen, Grace has found herself on the shores of a shadow world created to heal a generation. A world whose purpose is to release our emotions from the bonds of youth.
But she is not alone. It's a world inhabited by others, those working on their own hearts and one other like herself. An amazing and yet afflicted empath and musician by the name of Kai that Grace feels inexplicably drawn to.
Will she be able to handle the suppressed memories of her youth? Accept the vulnerability necessary to explore her own heart and that of another? Fulfill the true purpose it seems she is destined to serve?
Come along with Grace as she learns to uncover her past, harness her gift, open her heart to love and embrace her future.
Interview
What is the hardest part of writing your books?
The hardest part of writing The Storyteller’s Throne was getting
into the initial routine. That first
time that I decided I needed to get up early and have it become a regular
schedule kind of thing, and then sticking with that until it became an easy
habit. I have a very hectic life with 3
kids and there’s always something popping up, or to be honest, I’m just
exhausted when my alarm goes off because I forced myself to stay awake late at
night because I need to lay claim to some kind of adult time in my life!
I also found it hard to write about the story of trauma in The
Storyteller’s Throne. I feel it’s so
important to be honest about trauma and traumatic choices by characters and to
give them the voice they deserve without exploiting the situations and so some
of the scenes that deal with trauma took me the longest to write,. I would read and re-write and re-read and
re-write over and over again until I was somewhat content with it. I imagine this would be the same process for
anything I was writing that dealt with similar themes.
What songs are most played on your Ipod?
As far as music I listen to, The Black Crowes or Ani DiFranco are
playing most often, but I have a soft spot for The Shape of You for Ed Sheernan
and right now my oldest daughter is all about the movie The Greatest Showman so
I’m singing these songs in my head all day long. Other than that, what’s playing in my car as
we drive from place took place is Music Together for my littlest or we have an
audiobook on. We are huge fans of the
audiobook! Currently we’re working
through Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke and I will be extremely sad when the trilogy
ends 4 cds from now!
Do you have critique partners or beta readers?
For The Storyteller’s Throne, I had both beta readers and
critique partners. It was my first
novel and I wasn’t quite sure of the entire process, so I just did it all. I had an accountability Partner from the
class I was taking and I hired a beta reader and content editor as well as a
proofreader.
What book are you reading now?
The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman and I’m loving it!
How did you start your writing career?
This is it! Though I’ve
been writing for years but never tried to publish anything. I used to write a lot of poetry for
performance on stage, but I feel like that’s a completely different side of me
that did that. As far as this journey, I
started with a totally random decision to take a class on writing a book and
self publishing. I think, one day, I was
just like I need to do me and carve out time in my day for something all of my
own. I don’t think it would have
happened if I wasn’t taking a class and legitimizing this need for my own
time. Which in a way is somewhat
depressing that I needed to legitimize it, but I bet a lot of moms of multiple
kids feel that way - especially moms who homeschool and are on as a parent
24/7!
Tell us about your next release.
My next release will be the second book in The Storyteller’s
Series. I’ve been re-reading The Storyteller’s Throne in anticipation to begin
writing again,. To be honest, I’m so
much more comfortable writing than promoting my books! I love the process and can’t wait to get back
to it! The next book in The Storyteller’s series will take place in a place
where this world and the Shadow World collide. I see a lot more action
happening in the second book as The Storyteller’s Throne had a lot of set up
for the larger series.
You can follow my process for writing on my blog. I also share tips for daily creativity and
artistic inspiration all around at jocelynbates.com
About the Author
Jocelyn Bates is a homeschooling mama to three and an arts therapist. She lives in NJ and writes in the elusive quiet that settles in the earliest of hours.
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