Writer Wednesday: London Cole

So this week I felt compelled to introduce all of you to one of my favorite Twitter friends. He's witty, charming and a big fan of rum. Plus he's really good at telling paranormal stories that involve ghosts, sexual tension and a dystopian world unlike any other. His book Whisper Walker just underwent a major redo, getting a new title (Splinter), cover (see below) and some scene rewrites.

In honor of London's new release, he's giving away one digital copy (ePub or Mobi) of Splinter! Enter on Rafflecopter giveaway below. Winner will be announced on January 30th.

Tell us about your new release, Splinter.

Ahh, straight to the point. I like that. Ok, that’s not entirely true, I don’t mind a little beating around the bush on occasion. Splinter is a New Adult Post-Apocalyptic novel with elements of romance and paranormal set around eighty years after WWIII. It's a story told from two points of view of two best friends, Kelsie and Drake, as they stumble onto a paranormal mystery and threat that will impact their entire existence.

What's your favorite scene in this book?

That’s a hard one. That’s like asking a Star Wars fanatic to pick their favorite Han Solo action figure. I’d have to say (even though it’s a few scenes) that the second chapter is my favorite. It’s the introduction to Kelsie and some of her dirty little secrets.

Were any aspects of the story brought on by either personal experience or inspiration?

Whoa. The answer to this question is quite extensive. I’ll try to keep it brief. I grew up on a large island in Washington State. Every inch of that island was fodder for how my imagination works. There are many haunted locations on the island, including two seriously creepy and awesome old concrete forts left over from the World Wars, as well as some heavy woods where some completely inexplicable things have happened to me over the years. The very first scene is quite similar to something that happened to me while I was playing night games with some friends in high school at one of the forts. I fell into a pit at the bottom of an ammunitions lift without a flashlight and scene one was more or less born. There are many more scenes inspired by actual locations on Whidbey Island, but I don’t want to spoil the book.

What are some of your personal favorite books?

The whole Harry Potter series. The Iron Druid Chronicles, The King Killer Chronicles, Poison Study, The Emperor’s Edge series, dude, I could keep going. I love reading.

What music do you listen to while writing?

I normally opt for silence or a really loud room full of people, such as a pub. But sometimes I listen to A Day to Remember or Four Year Strong when I’m writing action scenes. Yellowcard is a good all around one for me, too.

What's the most satisfying thing about writing?

Having a reader come up to you and shake your hand, saying how much they loved your book, how much they could relate to one of your characters. It’s surreal.

Hardest thing?

Editing and revisions. Revisions always make my head get turned inside out! If I could write the first two drafts and then let someone else do all the intensive revisions, I would totally do that.

What are you working on next?

I’m working feverishly hard on another NA book that’s paranormal. I also have the outline for the coolest Santa Claus book ever.

What’s your favorite scary movie?

Cabin in the Woods was pretty awesome. Other than that, I’m not really into scary movies. I have been to the house that’s in The Ring though, which was totally cool.

If you could shake the hand of anyone you wanted, who would that be?

That’s tough. Maybe J.K. Rowling. She has done so much to help bring the younger generations into reading and I have the utmost respect for her.

Ways to follow London: Twitter, Goodreads, Facebook, his website

Where to find his books: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

London Cole is the author of Paranormal Young-Adult novels and novellas. He resides in the large and highly over-heated state of Texas, though he's not originally from there. He was born in the Pacific Northwest, growing up on an Island very near Canada. That means that he slips up and occasionally uses words like “ehh” and pronounces “about” like “abooot”. He's also told that he unknowingly slips into a light accent on occasion and says “dude” in an odd fashion.

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NaNoWriMo 2012 - Major Success!

Once again this year, I made the commitment to participate in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). What's this madness you ask? For the sane people out there, NaNoWriMo is a free for all in which hundreds of thousands of writers commit to put 50k words into a new story during the month of November. Although I hit the magic number about a week ago (not surprisingly, I'm still waiting for the champagne and confetti), I kept on charging ahead. While technically I still have today to keep working on it (and I plan to, believe me), my word count is over 68k.

My friends on Twitter have been saying how amazed they are that I have such a high word count. You have to take in consideration, however, that I did leave my office job over a year ago to write full time, so it's not the great feat it was last year when I had to steal every second of my social life to finish. Still, it's not as easy-peasy as one would think. Writers face many obstacles like gaping plot holes, a drive to delete and self-edit, and the dreaded writer's block.

One of the rules of NaNoWriMo is that you can't go back and rewrite/edit/delete at any time during the month. When I first participated last year, this about killed me as I was infamous for going back and rewriting when something bothered me. But once I got past it and kept moving forward, I was able to finish my first novel in over a decade. Keep in mind, dear reader, that a story is not done by any means just because you've written 50,000 words. My first published book, What I've Done, was a product of last year's NaNoWriMo. I continued writing it for a month or two after NaNoWriMo was over. Next it was sent to my editor for ideas, then I engaged in some major rewrites. By the time the story was finished in March, the total word count was over 75,000.

But the great thing about NaNoWriMo if you're a full-time author is that it really gives you a boost on your next novel. The new story that I'm working on involving mind control (title still in progress) has just exploded out of my fingertips and taken on a life of its own. The tale begins with a girl named Kianna having strange things happen to her on her eighteenth birthday. It gets out of control to the point where she actually entertains the idea that there is such thing as a birthday fairy (as Kianna says in her own defense, "Like mind control is any more believable?"). I hope you will see this story come to live early spring of 2013.

To all the fans who have been razzing me about writing sequels, The Day Zombies Ruined My Perfectly Boring Life is up next and the sequel to Shymers will be one or two after that. I truly appreciate the great feedback and reviews I've been getting on these books and apologize for leaving you hanging with the giant cliffhangers! But be patient, my friends, and hopefully you'll be blown away by what happens next!

So what exactly is the prize for NaNoWriMo you ask? Nothing. Unless, of course, you count a whole world filled with shiny new characters for readers to enjoy and an unbelievable feeling of accomplishment. As a writer, I can't imagine anything better (well, other than maybe a movie deal or an around the world signing tour).