Author Interview ~ Nova Sparks, Part Two

I’ve conducted 25 author interviews and each one was an adventure. Being an author myself makes each interview a journey to another world in the writing-universe—another chance to understand that I’m not alone in being afflicted with the dis-ease of stories that must be written…

Back in June, I interviewed Nova Sparks, shortly after her first novel, of a trilogy, was published.

Today, with book two nearing publication, Nova is back :-)

Nova, give us a short introduction for the folks who didn’t meet you in June.

I’m a sci-fi urban fantasy romance author from New York City. I’m self-published and I’m really happy about it!

Self published, eh? Tell us a little about your experience with that process.

Self-publishing is very liberating, and I mean that literally. It gives the author the freedom to decide every single detail of their book without someone deciding things for you. We can decide our price, how long the book is, the content, the genre, the format, everything! That’s the best thing. It also allows for you to keep a bigger chunk of your profits when compared to traditional publishers. One thing that people do need to know is that self-publishing should NOT be considered the EASY way into publishing your novel or short story. It is definitely much much harder. You have to do all the editing yourself. All the marketing, All the converting. EVERYTHING is on YOU! Many people see that as a bad thing, and I can totally understand that, but for me, it’s definitely something that is worth getting into. If for some reason I get a contract with a traditional publishing house, I’d know many of the ins and outs of how things go. I wouldn’t be completely oblivious. I guess you can say I’m a stronger author because of my experience self-publishing.

Nova, back in June, you spoke at length about the DOME, first in your trilogy, which follows an all American family who are part of thousands of people that have been “rescued” from a crumbling Earth and taken by a race of aliens to a distant planet and made to live in a DOME that simulates life on Earth… Please tell us about the forthcoming second book.

DOMErevelation basically picks up right where book 1 left off. In the first book we were introduced to some great characters like Emma, Sam, Kris, Mark, and Ked. In the DOMErevelation one of these characters is no longer with us and that starts a crusade to find out what these aliens really want from humans. I had a lot of fun writing this novel. Don’t get me wrong, part two’s are always harder than the rest of the series. I felt like I had to make this book better than the first.

These book covers are fascinating. Would you give us some insight into why you went with this look?

Well, I wanted the whole universe and outer space look. I chose that photo of the Carina Nebula from NASA. because the blue and calm colors inside this chaotic and almost violent looking space-gas seemed like it represented exactly what the DOME trilogy is about, especially the start of the series which is why its on book 1’s cover. The DOMErevelation‘s cover image is also from NASA and it is a rose shaped galaxy. As soon as I saw it I was totally and completely in love with it. It was the perfect image for this book which is really romantic and sweet, but still has the violent and sci-fi twist to it.

How long did it take to finish the second book?

To complete the DOMErevelation‘s actual story was very fast, like two months when taking into account all the things that held me up, like life and such. When including things like editing, formatting, file conversion, and just plain old indecisiveness, it took much longer than two months.

Nova, since you’re self-determined and self-published, what’s your average day like?

Hmm… Well, I can’t speak for every self-publisher, but I can speak for myself. A good chunk of my day is spent on the popular social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. I network with other authors and other bloggers, not so much about my book but just making friends. I try to stay in close relations with as many people in the “self-pub world” as possible. Support between us is really important. Other parts of my day are spent sending out review requests to as many book bloggers as possible. These people are SUPER important to the career of a self-publisher. They can make or break you with their book reviews. Much of my day is also spent posting about my book, giving links and discount coupons for my book so people can read it and spread the word. I also blog! That’s also a great thing to do so people can get to know you as a person. You wouldn’t believe how many people want to support your work based on who you are as a person. So that is what I do all day, everyday. And this is all happening WHILE working a day job, so you can just imagine what that’s like. And I didn’t even mention actually working on a novel while doing all this.

People just don’t understand the dedication and determination it takes………

Final words, Nova?

Yes! Please check out the DOME (the DOME trilogy, #1) on Smashwords! It’s now on sale for $0.99! And also, the DOMErevelation (the DOME trilogy, #2) will be available NOVEMBER 30th, 2011! Save the date!

Thank you soooo much, Alexander, for giving me another opportunity to be interviewed on your blog!

My pleasure, Nova. I think I should close the post out with your synopses:

Synopsis for the DOME

What if you knew the exact date and time the world will end, what would you do? Sam Tucker was faced with that dilemma when he began getting visions of the Earth’s demise. Luckily for him, he was able to save his family and as many people as he could before the tragic event occurred, and he did so with the help of unknown visitors. With Earth now destroyed, Sam, his family, and thousands of other lucky survivors must live the rest of their lives on a faraway planet in a Dome that simulates life on Earth. But Sam’s mind can’t seem to rest as a few questions arise. Why did the aliens save them? How did they know about Earth’s sure fate? And exactly what are they hiding?

Emma Tucker begged for an escape from her boring life but never in a million years did she think it would come at the destruction of Earth. Living on a new planet and finding it difficult to get rid of her rebellious habits, Emma finds herself making friends with a member of the alien race and it soon develops into an unexplainable love; a love that is more dangerous than she could ever imagine. While her father is searching for his own truths, she has no idea that she is stumbling on a truth of her own.

Told from the point of view of both Sam and Emma, readers venture on a journey to discover love, fate, faith, truth and the mystery of the DOME!

Synopsis for the DOMErevelation

Sam Tucker thought he was saving the lives of his fellow Coloradans when he rushed them and his family into an alien spaceship and away from a crumbling Earth. But given recent events…he was DEAD WRONG! With the brutal murder of his best friend and the equally mysterious series of events that preceded, he is absolutely sure that the race of aliens that have given the humans a home on their planet, are hostile. The Syrions want something from the humans and Sam is sure of it. Emma Tucker didn’t expect to fall in love with a Syrion boy and she definitely didn’t expect for her life to be ruined because of it. After a group of dangerous Syrions found out about her involvement with one of their own, they made sure that she got the message to stay away. Living in fear inside of the Dome, Emma finds herself in the company of a human, Jason—a young man who seems to be everything Emma should want. But the more she tries to distance herself from a life she craves, the more the affects start to take their toll on her. Emma’s changing and she doesn’t know why. Working together with her father to discover the intentions of the Syrions, Emma realizes that the only way she can get answers about the fate of the humans is to risk everything.

The DOMErevelation is a heart pounding adventure of love, trust and self-discovery.
Continue the journey…Invade the truth.

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