An Introduction to Elita F. Daniels

An introduction to Elita F. Daniels, author of Tree of Life (Part I).

1. How did you come to self-publish? Did you try to get published traditionally?

Given the industry lead-times on getting a publisher and the fact that most won’t accept manuscripts unless via an agent along with the fact that we had our own inhouse technical experience when dealing with book media we decided to head along the path of self-publishing rather than sitting around and being subjected to the whims of the big-six.

2. What self-publishing service did you use? Happy with the service?

Lightning source for our printed copies.  For eBooks we are hosting our own books/downloads as well as placing sales copies on Amazon and Goodreads.  Getting signed up as a publisher with LSI can seem a bit daunting at first but it’s not so bad on hindsight.

3. What avenues have you taken to market the book? Have you gotten reviews, interviews, TV, print media coverage?

Budgets depicted that we would be sticking with the internet as our primary marketing medium.  Sending copies of the eBook to review blogs and fairly much anyone who would take the time to look.  Forum exposure is one of the best core areas to work on.

4. What drove you to write this particular book?

(excerpt from the author’s site)

“For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be an actress. The idea of exploring fascinating characters and great stories has always captivated me. That dream was going nowhere fast.

I had dabbled a bit with story writing but it wasn’t until I wrote a silly screenplay for a competition, from which I received some pretty nice encouragement, that I decided to try my hand at a novel. But I had no story. I did, however, have a beautiful little scene in my mind of mother and son running from something or someone. As I began to get excited and ask myself more questions a story began to unfold. Then my beloved dog, whom I had loved and looked after for over thirteen years died in my hands, and my world went black. Not only for the loss of him, but the sudden revelation of mortality. I thought of all my loved ones, the fragility of life, and how I could not bare to lose any one of them. Here, a silhouette of a story was taking shape. But it wasn’t until I came across a picture on the internet of a dark-haired young man, who was devastatingly beautiful, that my story rapidly came together. I did some research and discovered he was a character from Christopher Paolini’s “Eragon”, portrayed by Garrett Hedlund. It was decided instantly. I wanted more of him. All the feelings impressed on me when I look at him I put down on paper. And this fantastic story came alive, with characters so real I couldn’t stop them from speaking in my mind, even at night when trying to sleep.

With the help of my stunningly gorgeous, amazing husband (putting up with my love affair with Garrett Hedlund), the help of my family and friends, and my beautiful dark-haired muse, an awesome story came into being. It was a wonderfully therapeutic, exciting experience and I look forward to many more great stories!”

5. Is the book in any one particular genre? Is it a genre that’s familiar to you?

High Fantasy with a good dose of character development, romance and plenty of anguish.  “Tree of Life” is strongly influenced by the torment of mortality.

8. Would you self-publish again?

Yes, absolutely.

9. Any final words of advice for those looking to self-publish?

Persistence.  There will be long, drawn out periods where nothing is happening, you’ll get down and out, the key is to be productive during those times if you can, find new places to show your book off to.   Also, very important, use a good editor and proof reader.