Today I have the pleasure of hosting Shannon Duffy, whose middle grade action adventure fantasy, Gabriel Stone and the Divinity of Valta was published on 2.12.13 by Month9Books! For those of you who do not know, I own Month9Books! But I’m not just hosting Shannon for that reason. I met Shannon when I was a freelance editor. She brought me Gabriel Stone to edit and I fell in love with it. When I started Month9Books, I vowed to publish that book no matter what I took. Fast-forward nearly two years later and here we are!
ABOUT GABRIEL STONE AND THE DIVINITY OF VALTA:
Gabriel Stone and the Divinity of Valta is a magical, fast-paced story that takes readers on a journey they won’t soon forget. It has enough mystery, intrigue and wonder to keep readers up, lamp lit, and reading into the night.
Month9Books, a new publisher of speculative fiction for teens and tweens, launches its inaugural list on January 1, 2013 with the release of GABRIEL STONE AND THE DIVINITY OF VALTA, a middle grade title from Canadian author, Shannon Duffy, whose first title, a young adult paranormal romance, SPECTRAL, was published in April 2012 from Tribute Books.
Gabriel Stone is a twelve-year-old boy still reeling from the unsolved disappearance of his mother. With a dad who’s hard to relate to, and mounting pressures at school, Gabriel lets off steam by hiking in the place where his mother was last seen. There, Gabe and friends find a crystal that proves not only beautiful, but magical beyond their wildest dreams. Only, magic and beauty come with a price: in order to return home, they must save the dying world of Valta.
GABRIEL STONE AND THE DIVINITY OF VALTA is perfect for the classroom and also makes a great gift for readers ages 9 and up who enjoy fantasy stories like THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA and THE BRIDGE TO TARABITHIA.
Shannon talks about things she wishes she had known about the publishing business! Please share your comments below. Everyone who comments will be entered to win a SIGNED copy of Gabriel Stone and the Divinity of Valta and a Gabriel Stone journal! Drawing will be held on February 28! Winner chosen at random. Sorry, no Rafflecopter on this one. We’re judging it old school!
Well, before I started writing Gabriel Stone, one thing I wish I’d known more about would have been word counts. I had to cut the book down by A LOT. Word counts weren’t something I considered as a newbie, but I paid for it in extra work later. You should always check the genres and see what you should be aiming for in word count before you start. Also, I wish I’d known I’d be in for such a long wait. After you write your book and edit it, have CPs edit it, (maybe you even hire freelance editors,) then you go about finding an agent. That process alone can take a long time. Perfecting your query, sending them out, dealing with rejections etc. Then after that, when you finally get one, your agent may make you edit your little story some more before subbing it to editors at publishing houses. At that point, you will wait more. Yes more. The publishing industry is super slow, but it’s been a fun journey all the same. When your book is finally picked up you’ll be dancing around your house. You worked hard to get there and deserve it! And yes, then you will edit some more. =) But there is nothing that beats the feeling of seeing your cover for the first time and watching as your story comes to life in vivid color.
Thanks for inviting me to your blog today!
~Shannon
ABOUT SHANNON DUFFY
Shannon Duffy grew up on the beautiful east coast of Canada, and now lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband and son, Gabriel. She’s mom to one boy, and several pets. Shannon loves writing, reading, working out, soccer, and the sport of champions: shopping. Shannon Duffy is available for quotes, signings, video or podcast appearances, and all opportunities relative to GABRIEL STONE AND THE DIVINITY OF VALTA.
GABRIEL STONE AND THE WRATH OF THE SOLARIAN, Book 2 in the Gabriel Stone series will be available from Month9Books in February 2014!
ABOUT MONTH9BOOKS:
Month 9 Books is a publisher of speculative fiction for teens and tweens… where nothing is as it seems. Month9Books will donate proceeds from each of its annual charity anthologies to a deserving charity. GABRIEL STONE AND THE DIVINITY OF VALTA is Month9Books’s first Middle Grade release. Month9Books is distributed by Small Press United, a division of IPG. You may visit www.month9books.com for more information.
LINKS:
Goodreads GABRIEL STONE AND THE DIVINITY OF VALTA: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15841297-gabriel-stone-and-the-divinity-of-valta
Goodreads SHANNON DUFFY: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3873156.Shannon_Duffy
Shannon Duffy Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShannonDuffyLit
Shannon Duffy Website: http://www.shannonduffylit.com/
Goodreads Month9Books: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/67761-month9books
Month9Books Blogger Central: http://month9booksblog.com/?page_id=477
Month9Books Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/month9books
Month9Books Twitter: http://twitter.com/Month9Books
Month9Books Publishing Website: http://www.Month9Books.com
Congratulations to you both on BOTH launches…much success! Gabriel Stone and the Divinity of Valta sounds intriguing! :0)
Posted by Donna L. Sadd | February 15, 2013, 12:11 PMCongratulations to Shannon on her book. I’ll mark it as TBR!
Posted by C. Lee McKenzie (@cleemckenzie) | February 15, 2013, 1:13 PMcongratulations on being a part of this book and all the great work you are doing,
Mom
Posted by Esther | February 15, 2013, 10:29 PMI can’t wait to read GABRIEL STONE!
Posted by Veronica Bartles | February 16, 2013, 11:24 AMSo happy for Shannon and I love this cover!!
Posted by salarsen | February 16, 2013, 3:01 PM