C.B. Pratt has lived all over the United States, including
California, New York and many stops in between. Having been a professional
writer for over twenty years, she is ill-suited to any normal work and hopes to
continue writing for the rest of her life. Independent publishing has allowed
her to write the things she has always wanted to, including fantasy and
steampunk. She is the author of numerous traditionally published books, as well
as the Eno the Thracian fantasy-adventure series. RIVERS OF SAND will be
released late summer, 2014.
Why did I become an author:
What else could I be? I started reading when I was three. I
ran out of books when I was five. The only recourse was to start writing them
myself. But just coming up with stories wasn’t enough. I had to share them with
others. That’s the difference between a writer and someone who daydreams. We
all have more or less vivid internal lives, fueled by dreams, movies, books, or
current events. When you write them down, you take a step into a whole
different world, the world of the writer. When you try to sell them, you become
an author. You don’t have to be successful to call yourself an author. All you
have to do is put yourself out there.
Going Indie
Like a good few writers working independently, I had a
'traditional' career. But the market changed in a way that I wasn't comfortable
with. I used to write romance novels, always with a twist of paranormal or
humor, sometimes both. But the market decided that erotica was the way to go.
I'm just not someone comfortable with that much 'show 'n' tell', not enough to
spend countless hours working on it, anyway. Besides, I felt that I'd said just
about all I had to say about love and romance, at least love and romance within
the confines of a romance novel. I wanted to expand my voice and my style, just
not in that direction.
But if you want to be published traditionally, you must be
attentive to the desires of the marketplace. I tried several different pieces
but the air went out of most of them before I passed chapter three. Then one
day, a voice and a character came to me unlike anything I'd done before. HERO
FOR HIRE, the first Eno the Thracian novel, kept me enthralled way past chapter
three. I'm on my fourth book about this character and keep finding new depths
to explore.
However, no agent could see potential in an epically funny
story about an Ancient World where the gods and the monsters are real. Some
wanted it not to be funny. Others wanted me to move everything into the modern
era as urban fantasy is 'hot'. Ten years ago, I probably would have done that
because traditional publishing was just about the only way to break through to
an audience. Times have changed, thanks be to goodness. Now I can reach an
audience without having to talk anyone into publishing my work.
The marketing end of things does not come naturally to me.
But the best thing you discover about indie publishing is just how many people
are happy to help you fill in the skills you lack and how many people you can
help in return. Indie publishing is 'casting your bread upon the waters' with a
vengeance. You may not make a mint, though some do, but you will gain readers
who become friends and get to know more writers than you ever would believe
possible. And that makes it all worthwhile.
C.B. Pratt’s Books
Eno the Thracian Series:
The Stone Gods
Dark Mountain
Rivers of Sand (2014)
Eno and the Dragon (2014)
Clockwork Universe: Steampunk Vs. Aliens Anthology
The Red
Queen and the White by C.B. Pratt
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