Fans have been eagerly awaiting the follow-up to the popular, sexy, angsty, paranormal mythological fantasy (yeah, it's all those things!) Blood Flows Deep in the Empire, and it's here! Blood Stained Tranquility is mere days away from publication. Read to the bottom of this blog post to enter to win each title in the highly-rated Szolite series, which "pits free-will against Destiny, Destiny against Fate, and love against brutal desire."
Please note that N. Isabelle Blanco is a blog guest, not a Romance Refined client.
Rachel: Thanks so much for stopping by on your blog tour! When you were writing Blood Stained Tranquility, was it a private affair until it was time for submission, or did you seek early feedback as part of your self-editing process?
N. Isabelle Blanco: I actually have an entire team of people (most importantly, my fellow business partner and author, Elena M. Reyes) that are with me during the entire writing process. I can’t write “blind” and need to have opinions on how I’m doing as I go.
Rachel: If I were an author, I think I’d be much the same! How tightly do you hold onto your original plot and character ideas, even if you feel they aren’t coming together?
Please note that N. Isabelle Blanco is a blog guest, not a Romance Refined client.
Rachel: Thanks so much for stopping by on your blog tour! When you were writing Blood Stained Tranquility, was it a private affair until it was time for submission, or did you seek early feedback as part of your self-editing process?
N. Isabelle Blanco: I actually have an entire team of people (most importantly, my fellow business partner and author, Elena M. Reyes) that are with me during the entire writing process. I can’t write “blind” and need to have opinions on how I’m doing as I go.
Rachel: If I were an author, I think I’d be much the same! How tightly do you hold onto your original plot and character ideas, even if you feel they aren’t coming together?
N. Isabelle Blanco: I’ve been very lucky that that hasn’t happened much during my writing. Usually my stories come to me complete, and mostly tied together. However, not everyone is perfect, and I am aware of that. So I am also very careful to listen to advice from my pre-readers and editing team when it comes to necessary changes.
Rachel: Did any major advice come into play while editing Blood Stained Tranquility that made the published version differ greatly from the original idea/draft?
N. Isabelle Blanco: The biggest change was the change from first person to third person point of view. It wasn’t a difficult decision to make either. My editing team was very clear on why they made the suggestion, and a part of me had already contemplated all the angles beforehand, so I knew right off the bat that they were right.
Rachel: Changing POV can make a crucial difference in a book! Prior to having the Szolite series accepted for publication with The Writer’s Coffee Shop had you worked with a freelance editor to prepare it for submission?
N. Isabelle Blanco: Not really, no. Which, in retrospect, I should have done, but I was very lucky to get offered a publishing contract (a few of them actually) without putting my manuscript through editing. However, I do not advise this. No. My first round of editing before publishing was very rough because of this and it “broke” me of several months. I couldn’t write a single word. So, please, if you’re an aspiring author, remember: always edit. Even the greats have editing done. You will not believe how many people self-publish nowadays without even thinking of running their stories through at least one round of editing.
Rachel: Amen! Did you learn anything from editing this project that you’ll be putting into practice when writing and revising your next manuscript?
N. Isabelle Blanco: I learned everything. I cannot stress how important that is. There is always so much to learn, and every round of edits teaches you more and more. That is the goal as a writer: to evolve. To grow. There is no way, as a human being, to ever know it all, but it’s imperative to keep learning as you go and editing helps with that.
Rachel: Absolutely! Authors shouldn’t expect to also be experts at editing, just as an editor wouldn’t assume they could become a best-selling novelist entirely on their own. (Yes, even editors-turned-writers use editors!)
Do you have any funny errors that editors or readers have pointed out?
N. Isabelle Blanco: Yes. My editors have actually banned me from using the word had for the next ten years or so until I get used to not using it in every sentence. Which is impossible to do! *laugh*
Rachel: My overused crutch word is just. Even editors have issues. *grin*
Thank you so much chatting with me about your behind-the-scenes process that goes into producing fantastic books like the Szolite series.
Rachel: Did any major advice come into play while editing Blood Stained Tranquility that made the published version differ greatly from the original idea/draft?
N. Isabelle Blanco: The biggest change was the change from first person to third person point of view. It wasn’t a difficult decision to make either. My editing team was very clear on why they made the suggestion, and a part of me had already contemplated all the angles beforehand, so I knew right off the bat that they were right.
Rachel: Changing POV can make a crucial difference in a book! Prior to having the Szolite series accepted for publication with The Writer’s Coffee Shop had you worked with a freelance editor to prepare it for submission?
N. Isabelle Blanco: Not really, no. Which, in retrospect, I should have done, but I was very lucky to get offered a publishing contract (a few of them actually) without putting my manuscript through editing. However, I do not advise this. No. My first round of editing before publishing was very rough because of this and it “broke” me of several months. I couldn’t write a single word. So, please, if you’re an aspiring author, remember: always edit. Even the greats have editing done. You will not believe how many people self-publish nowadays without even thinking of running their stories through at least one round of editing.
Rachel: Amen! Did you learn anything from editing this project that you’ll be putting into practice when writing and revising your next manuscript?
N. Isabelle Blanco: I learned everything. I cannot stress how important that is. There is always so much to learn, and every round of edits teaches you more and more. That is the goal as a writer: to evolve. To grow. There is no way, as a human being, to ever know it all, but it’s imperative to keep learning as you go and editing helps with that.
Rachel: Absolutely! Authors shouldn’t expect to also be experts at editing, just as an editor wouldn’t assume they could become a best-selling novelist entirely on their own. (Yes, even editors-turned-writers use editors!)
Do you have any funny errors that editors or readers have pointed out?
N. Isabelle Blanco: Yes. My editors have actually banned me from using the word had for the next ten years or so until I get used to not using it in every sentence. Which is impossible to do! *laugh*
Rachel: My overused crutch word is just. Even editors have issues. *grin*
Thank you so much chatting with me about your behind-the-scenes process that goes into producing fantastic books like the Szolite series.
Scroll all the way to the bottom to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for chances to win this series!
Release Date: 27th March 2014
Published by The Writers Coffee Shop
Available from Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, and TWCS PH
A normal human girl. . .
N. Isabelle Blanco was born in Queens, NY (USA). At the age of three, due to an odd fascination with studying her mother’s handwriting, she began reading and writing. By the time she’d reached kindergarten, she had an extensive vocabulary and her obsession with words began to bleed into every aspect of her life.
An avid reader in her teens, her fascination with Japanese anime eventually led her to the universe of fan fiction, which became her on-again, off-again hobby for the next ten years. During that time she amassed a following of fans that, by her own admission, she would never be able to live without. It was those fans who encouraged her to step beyond the fan fiction realm and try her talent in the publishing world.
N. Isabelle Blanco now has three novellas and two full-length novels under her belt, and spends her days working as an author, web programmer, marketer, and graphic designer. Her free time is spent with her “spawn,” as she calls her son, brainstorming for his future career as a comic book illustrator. Connect with N. Isabelle Blanco on:
Summary:
The wheels of destiny are spiraling out of control quicker than even the gods can keep up. They all thought they knew what war was like—but have no idea how bad things are about to get. In the continuation of the Szolite series, two of the most dangerous powers in the Universe will be unleashed, threatening to push two fated beings apart.
A normal human girl. . .
Evesse Salazar never imagined that a violent end to her already difficult life would be just the beginning. After being thrown into a vortex, shredded apart, and killed, she is reborn as something more. Something she might not be able to manage. If that weren’t enough, she awakes newly mated to the last being in the Universe she ever would have chosen.
Now, with no other option, Eve must come to terms with her powers, her past, and her mate before he loses control of what might just be uncontrollable.
A god with a monster locked inside. . .
For over eleven thousand years, Zeniel, God of Tranquility, has done everything in his power to keep his other half, the God of Vengeance, from breaking free. A single glance from Mavrak is all it takes to kill those deemed guilty. The wraiths under his command can tear thousands to shreds in an instant, no matter how small their crimes. Zeniel knows he must remain at peace to keep Mavrak at bay, but he’s rendered helpless with one look into the eyes of his mate.
The longing for Evesse is enough to rip the demon out of its cage, and with the Gods on the verge of a cataclysmic war, Mavrak has every intention of gorging on both his mate, and the vengeance he so desperately needs. Author Bio:
N. Isabelle Blanco was born in Queens, NY (USA). At the age of three, due to an odd fascination with studying her mother’s handwriting, she began reading and writing. By the time she’d reached kindergarten, she had an extensive vocabulary and her obsession with words began to bleed into every aspect of her life.An avid reader in her teens, her fascination with Japanese anime eventually led her to the universe of fan fiction, which became her on-again, off-again hobby for the next ten years. During that time she amassed a following of fans that, by her own admission, she would never be able to live without. It was those fans who encouraged her to step beyond the fan fiction realm and try her talent in the publishing world.
N. Isabelle Blanco now has three novellas and two full-length novels under her belt, and spends her days working as an author, web programmer, marketer, and graphic designer. Her free time is spent with her “spawn,” as she calls her son, brainstorming for his future career as a comic book illustrator.
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