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Pick of the week

I am honoured that my new release Abigail Cottage has been named Pick of the week by thriller writer Lorrie Struiff

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Abigail Cottage

When Abigail falls in love with Justin she can’t begin to know the world of hurt she is heading into. Gorgeous, kind, rich – he’s the man we all dream to meet. BUT, all is not what it seems because Justin is a true demon from hell, disguised as a mortal being. He wants her and will do, kill or maim anyone who tries to stop him. Namely Shaun the real hero, who wants Abigail more! So what does a mortal man do against a demon? He enlists the help of a gypsy of course. But not any old gypsy. Rosa knows Justin very well and has the powers of the spirit world on her side to fight him. Using crystals as a powerful weapon, the light of the spirit world to lead them, they embark on a battle with the whole of the underworld. Many loved ones will lose their lives. This isn’t a book where everyone survives. In real life, bad things happen. In Abigail Cottage, terrible tragedies occur too. Believe... not every story can have a happy ending.

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Wednesday 12 January 2011

Tommy Batchelor

A warm welcome to Tommy Batchelor



Here is a bit about him.


Growing up in central Georgia gave Author Tommy Batchelor many outdoor adventures either in the woods or along the banks of the Flint River. Tommy's first book, a picture book for ages 5 - 9 , "Sunday's with Papa T, A River Adventure. “Lost on Spirit River”, is Book 1 of the Spirit River Trilogy and Tommy’s first Middle grade fiction for ages 9 – 12 He resides in Middle Georgia with his wife, Cathy.


Here is his latest release.




Thirteen-year-old Tony’s parents are in the middle of divorce, his mother sends him to his Grandpa’s along the banks of the Flint River in Southwestern Georgia. With his younger cousin Kathryn, they set out to look for a Christmas tree for the holidays, along with Grandpa’s aging beagle, Sally. The three become lost in a snowstorm, Finding shelter in a hidden cave, stumbling upon Native American wall art. Now the adventure really begins.



Good morning Tommy. It is lovely to have you here today on my blog, is there anything you would like to say before we have a chat?

Good Morning Margaret and thanks for having me here today. As the world around us changes from day to day, so does the world of books. I remember as a small child, I’d sit on the library benches to read or curl up in bed with books before bedtime. A good book in my hands made me feel grown up, it felt as if I was on the same level of my sisters and parents. I can read, I kept telling myself. Least I never told this to my school friends. Each year, as I progressed to the next grade level in school, we were given at least one new book to use. I loved the smell of a new book.

The books I read were my escape from everyday life. I could catch a plane across the ocean or dive to the deepest bottom of a lake. I might blast off for the moon or end up on Mars, march with soldiers across Germany or France. I was there with General Lee in Virginia and I was there when the first Englishman came to the Americans. I greeted the Native American with open arms, sat down with them and ate a meal together.

Our book world changes to e-books on Kindle’s and Nooks, even though I haven’t bought one yet. My Dad bought my Mom a Kindle this year for Christmas, she loves curling up on the sofa or reading chair with a hardback book in hand. That’s changed now. I guess this is best for her, since she is now in her eighties. It doesn’t smell like a new book and it’s too small to curl up with, I think, I’ll wait another year or longer to buy an e-reader. Maybe I’ll wait until they smell like a new book each time you turn it on!

How lovely that would be. I have to agree that I just can’t think of anything better than a book in my hand. I have many writers who inspire me, but mainly life does that job. Can you tell us who inspires you to write?

It was mainly my Grandchildren, several of them had problems getting into reading and I knew this would hurt them once they started school. I began writing short stories to use for bedtime stories. They seemed interested in my stories, inspired by Grandpa’s books they began to reach out for other books to read.
How fascinating. It looks like there is a real niche for your type of writing. Now you can share it with your family as well as others. Something to be very proud of.
I’m always looking for something special to leave for my Grandchildren, I believe a book is the perfect gift. Maybe two hundred years from now, I’ll pop back in to see my great-great grandchildren and there on the book self is only a single book, entitled “Lost on Spirit River, Book One”

Do you have any more books planned?


I’m working on several project’s, book two of Spirit River is one and a memoir non-fiction of growing up in the sixty’s as a young boy from Central Georgia. This is something I’ve wanted to do for quite awhile now, before my memory gives out.
That’s very different from your new book. So while it’s still fresh in your mind, can you pick your favourite character from your new release and tell us about them
Tony is my favourite character; he’s hurt and bitter in the beginning with his parent’s divorce. He feels his father and even his friends have abandoned him. He decides to not accept anybody’s help for anything, he feels he doesn’t need anyone. That’s far from the truth as the story progress farther into the book. Can he change ? Will he accept his cousin’s help? You have to read the book to find the answer!

Do you have any advice for new writers just starting out?

Patience, is the key. Since I self-published through Mirror Publishing, most self-publish author seem to rush to get the book out and on the shelf. That’s the big publishing houses and consumer’s weapon against the self-publisher. You might have written a great story, but it hurts you and the self-publishing authors to rush your book. Take a little time to have everything set up before you publish. Have Patence’s!

Being self published, would you use the ‘publisher’ route now or do you consider self publishing the way forward? Do you edit your own books?

I like being in control with my books, doesn’t everybody who self-publishes. You can pick your Illustrators, editors and cover designers. You can control the cost of your book and/or e-books. You do most of your books marketing. I think we’ll see more and more of the big name authors getting into self-publishing their own books and e-books.

Before you go can you tell us where can your followers find you?

Website
Author site
Barnes and Noble

Thank you so much for popping in Tom and I wish you lots of luck with your new release. Please come back when your next book is out and tell us about it.

14 comments:

  1. Good morning, Tommy.
    Hope you're not freezing like me. :)
    I agree on patience. Self-published or not, authors should be patient when working on their books. For me, quality is more important than quantity.
    Great interview and good luck on your books.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Margaret and Tommy...I think one of my first memories is ready a book while sitting over the heater vent in my bedroom. I would read the same book over and over until I became proficient in reading anything I put my hands on. Now as an adult I find that my favorite way to spend downtime when I am not driving my rig is to curl up on my bunk with a good book. I do have an ereader but for some reason I still prefer an actual book in my hands. *Laughs* My mom tells me I own too many books which is funny since she reads just as much if not more than I do. I am always looking for good books to give to my now grown daughter and my nephews. I know that at least 2 of my nephews love to read. My daughter is getting that way once she finds something she enjoys to read. I look forward to giving books to my grandchildren when I have them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello Tommy:

    I enjoyed the interview, especially loved how books were a part of your life from childhood. It was that way for me as well, and even though we moved a lot, when I had my own home, I had floor-to-ceiling bookcases put in, then searched the used book stores to "recreate" part of the library I remembered from childhood.

    I certainly agree about needing patience. I had been writing for nine years before being published. I was that close to chucking it in when I "got the email."

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Tommy,

    Good to know an author for Georgia. I am a reader from Georgia. I must say that I took the jump into e-books a few months ago and love them. Now my hubby is no longer tripping over all the book laying on the side of the bed or over the box of books at the foot of the bed. I am one of those readers that hates to toss a book when I am done, so I have boxes and boxes of book all over the place. Now with e-books I can store them on my computer and keep millions of them.

    Your books sounds great and really cool that is takes place so close to home.

    Terra

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  5. Wow a man after ny own heart prefering a 'proper book' to the e-reader thingy. I totally agree, you can't beat the smell and holding a book and nodding off whilst reading in bed, perfect. Good luck with your future writing.

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  6. Great interview! That was a great way to get your grandchildren to read. I remember I loved to go to my school library to read. Loved the smell of books and loved the adventures they could take me on. I still love to read. I've tried to get my nieces and nephews to read and it's not catching on with them. They are to busy with the internet, their friends, and their ipods. Maybe I can sneak and audio book on their ipod. lol. Your book sounds really good!

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  7. I forgot to mention that I am now following the blog.

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  8. Hi Margaret! Hi Tommy! so nice to meet you! From reading the blurb, this first book in the trilogy so sounds like it will cover issues that so many kids deal with, but too an adventure.

    Oh that would be neat to have the e-reader smell like a new book. Hey maybe there is a 'tree' scent of that like they have for new cars!

    When my children were younger, their grandpa would tell them stories about the war that he was in, but so very different, not in a scary way. My hubby would listen and interpret to me, and I got to listen to the stories too. They would bring their books to him and have him read to them. Thats so beautiful you got to write your stories too to your grandchildren!

    I'm following the blog, wouldn't miss it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Welcome to the writing world, Tommy. I'm waiting for my first YA release, and I'm so surprised by how many authors have children, tween and YA books out. I never knew it was such a popular genre.

    I totally agree with you about self-pubbed authors rushing to get their books out. For years, there has been a stigma attached to self-publishing that has scared me away from that option. I recently utilized my "print" rights for one of my ebooks and am offering it through Createspace. Seems with the introduction of all these ebook readers and the digital age coming to fruition, more and more authors are cutting out the middleman, which really can be a smart move if you make sure your work is edited and ready for publication. Even with two awesome editors combing through my manuscript, I've still found a couple of mistakes. I don't think there are ever enough eyes in the world to prevent at least a few. :) Anyhow...rambling as usual when I just wanted to say welcome. Good luck with you book.

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  10. Hi, Tommy, what an inspiring interview. What an inspiration you are to your grandchildren. I too love the smell of books. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of walking into my local libray and inhaling the smell of all those books. I got a Kindle last September and I absolutely love it. I didn't think I'd love reading from an ereader, but I do. Good luck with your books. They sound great. Are you published on Amazon Kindle?

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  11. Writing stories for your grandchildren is so wonderful!

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  12. Hello,
    I want to thank Margaret for taking the time to post our interview and to ALL the comments and well wishers I wish 2011 to be your best year yet! It you want to follow along on my blog go to http://tommybatchelor.blogspot.com
    I'm having a book giveaway of my book, simply follow my blog and leave a e-mail address to get in touch with winners. Thank Again and God Bless!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Margaret and Tommy,

    The first book I read was a very old one titled "A Girl Named Hank" about a tomboy. It made me feel so good because I was a tomboy too. Since then I've been hooked on books.

    How wonderful to write for your grandchildren. I'm sure many other grandads and parents out there will be buying your books for their children. I believe in getting children to read early. If you can read, you can do anything. That's alway been my life motto.
    Good luck. Lovely interview. Thanks for sharing.

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  14. Thanks Lorrie, all the best to you in 2011!!1
    I agree with the (If you can read, you can do anything) I tried it on my granddaughter!! Good Motto!!! Trieding to get followere to my blog at http://tommybatchelor.blogspot.com/
    Got a book giveaway going on now. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

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