I first started my company with the
idea of starting a fantasy adventure children’s magazine, called Labyrinth’s
Door. But that morphed into a mag book titled Labyrinth’s Door that kept some
of the same ideas as the magazine.
The idea for the first Labyrinth’s Door
mag book came from working on the back-story of Anyia, who is character in a
novel I’m working on.
Once I had the first installment of
Labyrinth’s Door published I started thinking about creating my first coloring
book adventure, and that’s when the Talee series was born. It is based on a
concept I had started earlier for the magazine. It first started off just as a
coloring book adventure series but once I had a rough draft of the coloring
book I decide to write an earlier reader chapter book of the story, after many
requests from friends to do so.
I’m now working on the 2nd
installments for Labyrinth’s Door and Talee.
2)
Do you specialize in any particular genre(s)
I do! My genre of choice is fantasy
adventure stories for children and YA. I love that genre and find it fun to
work in.
3)
What was your first published work?
It is about a young girl named Anyia,
whose dream of becoming a Nagoran Warrior is infused with adventure and danger.
Running from her duties as a Yora, she dares to break tradition to follow her
own dream, during a time when Empress Zarina threatens the magic treaty that
protects her village.
This is a story that flows
wonderfully and woven into the action are mysteries that make for an exciting
teaser that will leave you eager for more of Anyia's adventures. You will not
want to wait to find out how her personal journey, the chief and Empress
Zarian's war, as well as Amoonda's involvement and the role of the Treelins
develop in coming installments.
4)
Tell us about your other books.
Talee is an adventurous eight-year-old girl that loves
purple, yellow and big puffy muffins. She lives on the planet Gala, which has
two moons, and landmasses that float. It’s a great elementary school-aged
children’s book, as it will transport kids to another world through the
description given by the protagonist, Talee.
5)
Who illustrates your books? Describe that process.
For my second book, Toujour did the
concept work on Talee but Brian Hardison did all the illustration work and I
did all the inking of the illustration with the help of Brian and Toujour did
the coloring of the cover.
I’m very hands on and art direct all of
my projects. My process is to send the illustrator a package of the project,
which always consists of my ideas, screen shots and any references I might
have. Then I talk with them about the needs of the project and they work on
rough sketches. Once the rough sketches are good the final illustration work
begins.
6)
Tell us about Worlds to Discover.com. Are your books really available
free of charge? Why?
WorldsToDiscover.com is the website for Worlds To Discover
which is a children's book publishing company that is inspired by fantasy
adventure stories that push the imagination. And yes! On WorldsToDiscover.com
you can read both of my books for free. I made the decision one night as I was
working on one of my books.
As I was writing I wished I had a fan
base of children who were looking forward to the story I was working on and wondering what
Anyia, Talee, and Nola were up to next. But
that’s not possible if they have never read any of my stories and they don’t
know the characters. Some people have told me not to post my books
for free on my site. They said I wouldn't make any money while others have told me
to do it for a short period of time. But, that didn’t concern me. My mind
was made up one night when I was watching one of Oprah’s Life Classes where she
posed a question: "Would you be doing what
you’re doing even if it didn’t make money?" The answer for me was an
easy…YES! I love creating stories, new characters and worlds. Just today, after
not writing for weeks, I was working on one of my novels and realized how much
I miss working on my stories. Although I do want to get paid for my stories, I
also want people to get to know my characters. So for now they will be on my
site and people are welcomed to read them for free.
7) How do you promote your work? What strategies have
been the most successful?
I have mostly promoted my books on the
internet, through interviews and blog tours. But now that I’ve teamed up with
Eva’s Bakeshop for the Puffy Muffin I’ve started promoting through flyers and
posters in my area. Our local library has been really helpful in helping to
promote the Puffy Muffin as well as some daycares and etc.
8) What do you plan to accomplish in 2012?
Well with the launch of the Puffy
Muffin, I also hope to publish at least 2 books this year. One of which will be
the next book in the Talee series.
9) What advice would you give to budding writers?
Take your time. There is no rush,
although it can feel like it is. Get your artwork done by an artist whose work
you love. And spend the money and time to get a line edit done by a
professional. It will be time and money well spent.
10) What is your
definition of success as a writer?
The individual defines success. Some
people are content with just publishing books regardless of sales. Others want
to make their living off their books. For me, success is being able to take my
stories from books to animation while earning a living.
Author Bio
“All
my life, I’ve gravitated to fantasy stories. Stories I felt I could be a
part of and completely immerse myself in … in my imagination.” –
JMcManus
Jacquitta
A. McManus, a little girl from Kentucky and author of two fantasy
adventure children’s books, Labyrinth’s Door – Anyia “Dream of a
Warrior” and Talee and the Fallen Object, was always drawn to fantasy
stories. It was a way for her to immerse herself into exciting
adventures in faraway lands that she otherwise wouldn’t experience. As
she got older she would find that immersing herself into those fantasy
stories, as a little girl, was just the beginning of a journey that
would lead her to writing her own fantasy adventure children’s books.
website: http://www.WorldsToDiscover.
Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/
Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/
This is a very informative interview. Good advice to would-be authors, too.
ReplyDeleteExcellent interview. Thanks for sharing.
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