Thursday, April 16, 2009

Christine and Ethan Rose

The picture to the left is one of Christine and Ethan Rose, authors of the award-winning YA fantasy novel, Rowan of the Wood. With its combination of suspense, action, wizards and vampires, Rowan of the Wood has been getting excellent reviews. It also was a finalist for the National Best Books 2008 Award for Young Adult Novel. If you’d like to find out more about their book, be sure you take a look at the trailer.

Christine is not only an author, she’s an artist and an independent filmmaker, with two films under her belt. Her first film had its theatrical premiere in Paris. You can check out her creds on IMDb.

If Ethan’s not writing, you can probably find him with a book in one hand and a hammer in the other, since he’s a carpenter by trade.

Both Ethan and Christine love to travel. And they are definitely traveling around promoting Rowan of the Wood. Check out their wheels, which they call the Geekalicious Gypsy Caravan.

Ethan’s doing the post today, but Christine will also be available to answer questions.

Welcome Ethan and Christine.

Writing as a Career
by Ethan Rose

Ever since my days as an incorrigible fourth grade troublemaker, I knew that I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. If I couldn’t manage it, before. I even asked for a typewriter for Christmas, so I could produce submission-quality manuscripts. What I received was a Playschool machine which, though it actually put letters on paper, only had upper case capabilities. It did seem to produce a more dramatic product but was not what I was looking for.

I wanted to be published.

It wasn’t so much the fame and fortune, or even being the babe-magnet that authors tend to be, it was simply my inevitable fate. I read books. If asked for a single defining aspect for me, anyone who knew me would say without hesitation that I was a reader. It was what I was known for. Writing for me, and I assume for others with a similar affliction, is an extension of reading. It is the next step, a higher literary plane of existence where an anti-social behavior becomes socially relevant.

Little did I know at the time that being a writer is a lot like being an actor. For every movie star there are thousands of actors waiting tables. In the same way, when people hear “writer,” the image often conjured up is of a starving recluse scribbling away in a garret while piling up mountains of words that no one wants to read except a few pompous academic esotericists.

On the other hand, there are writers like Stephen King and Stephanie Meyer who could sell anything with their name on it, regardless of quality. The question is how does one get from the garret to the bestseller list? What is the secret to writing success?

Well, I would tell you, but that would allow you to compete with me more effectively. Besides if there is a secret, I don’t know it. What I do see as necessary is a combination of hard work, endless hours of marketing, luck, skill, determination, and visibility.

Luck is really the awareness to seize upon opportunities which present themselves. Determination and hard work are what create those opportunities. Skill is a writer’s craft, the voice of the manuscript. This is what will make a reader seek out more of an author’s work. Visibility is what will make an author famous.

So write well, be visible, work hard and you might get lucky enough to make a living.

What a wonderful career.

Thank you so much, Ethan.

Remember the picture of Ethan and Christine at the top of this post? Check out this one.

Before I open the comments box, I’d like to suggest that everyone go buy Rowan of the Wood. It’s available on Amazon and via Kindle. And you can definitely find it at Barnes & Noble, since Christine and Ethan were February’s Authors of the Month in all the Austin-area Barnes & Nobles. And if you’re not already following them on Twitter, do that!

And remember to sign up for the contest!

Don’t zip away without leaving a howdy or a question -- and you can click the little Tweety bird to tweet Ethan’s post.
TweetIt from HubSpot

16 comments:

  1. The Gypsy kind of life does seem appealing. I'm not sure I could do it. My life is so structured now. Looks like a cute book.

    Morgan Mandel
    http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
    http://blogtalkradio.com/booksandblogs

    ReplyDelete
  2. I know that spirited woman!

    It's really wonderful that they enjoy this work together. That is SO rare!

    L. Diane Wolfe
    www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com
    www.spunkonastick.net
    www.thecircleoffriends.net

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love the gypsy camper/trailer. i live on a boat so similar life, but on water.
    I will enjoy checking out the book.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good Morning!

    Thanks for stopping by so early Lara, Diane, & Morgan! Ethan and I will be around all day, so please ask anything you like.

    We really love working together. In fact, we've been working on the sequel revisions over the past few days, and we're having a great time.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ha, I liked this interview and got a laugh from it. It is 10:05 a.m. and I still have not been to bed.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The traveling life can reduce stress. While at home I am surrounded by things that need to be done. I have a workshop full of tools buried under projects awaiting completion. My desk is a paper version of the same. Let’s not even mention the internet. On some days we are too busy making to do lists to anything else done.

    By heading out on the road we leave all that behind. Internet activity is restricted to hot spots. We only pack one or two projects and there is actually time to read. There are other complications like finding places to stop for the night and water for the holding tank, but now that we have acquired some experience they have become fairly simple tasks.

    But most of all it is a continuous adventure.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ethan and Christine. The traveling billboard is a brilliant idea. What kind of questions do you get? Do you get honked at a lot? Do you carry books to sell to people who come up and ask about it?

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  8. An excellent article and good advice! So what is the secret to becoming author of the month? That's quite an honor.

    Jane Kennedy Sutton
    http://janekennedysutton.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  9. The book looks like it would be right up my family's alley - we'll definitely have to check it out.

    Enjoyed the article - thanks for sharing!

    Kenna
    http://environmental-realist.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  10. Helen:
    We do get people honking, waving, pointing, etc. And someone did come up to us in a parking lot to buy a book :-D

    It's great fun.

    Jane:
    Secret to Author of the Month: Luck. Being in the right place at the right time. I think success in any thing is a mixture between a lot of hard work... and a lot of luck.

    You have to be "out there" to find those opportunities, or more accurately, to let the opportunities find you.

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a wonderful way to market your books. A budding children's author, myself, I'll certainly look for your Rowan series.

    Jean
    http://advicefromeditors.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  12. Kenna:
    The book also has an underlying environmental theme, as Ethan and I are long-time environmentalists.

    We always use repurposed wood in our book-inspired artwork. The lyre he made for me used to be a light box in someone's home!

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  13. Christine, I think the Geekalicious Gypsy Caravan is a unique brilliant way to promote your book.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks Helen! ... and thanks for hosting us on your wonderful blog today. I hope you'll follow us on our Geekalicious Grand Book Tour.

    I'll sure be following your blog in my RSS reader!

    Be sure to visit me tomorrow over at Bitten by Books, where they'll be posting a video interview with me and hosting a contest to win 3 signed books.

    Last day of the blog tour is tomorrow!

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  16. Christine and Ethan - great tour! Best of luck to you. Rowan looks like a great book.

    ReplyDelete

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