Untethered Realms Spotlight: Graeme Ing

For the last several weeks, Graeme Ing has been interviewing his fellow Untethered Realms authors, including me, and hosting us on his blog. I thought it would be fun to give his interview questions back to him and see his answers to the questions he has posed to the rest of us. So here is Graeme interviewing Graeme!

Tell us about your latest Book:

"Ocean of Dust" is a YA Fantasy story about a young girl, Lissa, who finds herself a slave on a mysterious ship that sails upon a huge ocean made of a gray dust, not water. Strange things start to happen to her and she discovers her latent talent, one linked to the dust and the monstrous creatures that live in it. After a lethal battle aboard ship, Lissa is abandoned on a remote island with the Captain and few supplies. Only her quick-thinking, bravery and secret talent can help her save the ship and her best friend.

What genre(s) do you write/want to write in?

Primarily fantasy, but I also plan to write science-fiction, paranormal, cyberpunk and steampunk, and you'll see crossovers too.

What do you like most about being an author?

World creation. I work out entire timelines, draw maps and try to turn the usual into the unusual. Then I need interesting characters to populate those worlds.

What do you hate most about being an author?

Like many authors, I'll say Marketing. I love meeting and talking to new people, but I'm not a natural salesman.

What does Untethered Realms mean to you and why should folks follow UR?

I 'm proud to be a member of UR. It really helps to know fellow authors to bounce ideas off, and trade tips about how to best get our books before the most people. We write the same genres so it's easy to cross-promote. My fellow Realmers are extremely talented, and if you like to read spec-fic then follow UR and sample the great stories on offer.

What do you enjoy doing when you're not writing?

One of my passions is travel. My wife and I have a wall map in our home office with pins marking all the amazing places in the world we have been to, and there are still a lot of gaps on that map. Greenland anybody? I also play and design role-playing games and attempt to pay attention to our six demanding cats.

What's the most fun you've had writing a scene or character and why?

I'm thoroughly enjoying the main character of my work-in-progress. He's a cocky, sarcastic necromancer and I have so much fun with him. His partner is a fiery, fearless woman and I can't help but chuckle when I write dialog between them, especially when they argue. Apart from those two, I'm a sucker for a sad scene, and hope that if it has me crying when I write it, readers will get emotional too.

If you could live as one of your characters whom would you choose and why?

There's a character in my upcoming necromancer book that I think of as me, but you'll have to figure that out for yourselves, and no its not the cocky hero himself. :) In "Ocean of Dust", I'd like to be Oban, the ship's navigator. He has a special role and responsibility aboard ship, but is quite happy to report to the Captain.

Tell us a secret, something few people know about you?

If I ever made millions out of my books (A man can dream!) I'd happily fork out $200,000 to Sir Branson for a flight into space aboard Spaceship 2.

What's your next book about? Go on tease us!

It's a fantasy about a young necromancer in a city inhabited by as many undead as the living. My goal is to show a totally different side to the necromancer stereotype. A new and seemingly invincible creature threatens the city, but when the necro discovers who is controlling it and why, he and his new apprentice, Ayla, face an uphill battle to save the city. It's the first of several books I plan to write about him and this new world. Look for it on all ebooks, paperback and audio book early 2014.


About Ocean of Dust:

YA Fantasy:  Fourteen-year old Lissa is snatched from her home and finds herself a slave on a trading ship traveling on a waterless ocean of nothing but gray dust. A feisty, curious and intelligent girl, her desire to explore the ship earns her the hatred of the cruel first officer, Farq.

Fascinated by the ocean of dust, Lissa becomes embroiled in its mysteries, sensing things that the crew cannot, while cryptic whispers in her head are leading her toward a destiny linked to the dust itself. Only one man aboard can help her make sense of her new talent, but can she trust him? All is not as it seems, and she must unravel the clues before it’s too late.

When a sinister plot casts her adrift on the barren ocean, her best friend is left in the hands of the treacherous crew. Everything hinges upon her courage, quick wits, and her ability to master her new talent.

Where to Buy:
Amazon Kindle: USA | UK | Canada | B&N Nook | Apple iBook | Kobo | WHSmith | Smashwords
Paperback: USA | UK

About Graeme:

Graeme Ing is a writer of fantasy and SF novels, both adult and YA. His first novel, Ocean of Dust is a YA fantasy.
 
Graeme is currently working on his second book, a dark fantasy full of undead, destruction, and a sinister pact. The hero is cocky and sarcastic, but a hero none-the-less.

Born in England in 1965, Graeme lives in San Diego, California. His career as a software engineer and development manager spans 25 years, including the development of a dozen computer games for consoles, home computers and online. He is also an avid D&D nerd, armchair mountaineer, astronomer, mapmaker, pilot and general geek. He and his wife, Tamara, share their house with six crazy cats.


Thanks to Graeme for playing along with me for this spotlight post. I recently read Ocean of Dust and can't recommend it enough, it's fantastic!

I can't believe it's the end of another week already, but here we are at Friday and another round of the Celebrate the Small Things hop.

Thanks to the 4th of July holiday here in the US I am enjoying a four day weekend, so that is a very welcome celebration for me this week. I hope my American friends enjoyed the holiday and I hope everyone has a great weekend ahead.