Author Interview – Steven O’Connor

Who designed the cover? Apart from the cover of my short story ebook (MotherCraft) which is based on a picture by my son, all of the artwork for my paperback and my two ebooks is by Aaron Pocock. I feel very lucky that he agreed when I approached him. His artwork is truly amazing.

Of all the art he has created based on my story ideas, I think he most enjoyed depicting the dragonbot from MonuMental (dragonbot, you ask? yep, half dragon, half robot). Totally off his own bat, he produced a YouTube video of himself drawing the dragonbot: http://stevenoconnorwriting.com/creating-a-monumental-dragonbot-2/

And I also sincerely recommend you check out his website and fabulous artwork, you won’t regret it. His site is called That Space Between and you can access it here: http://aaronpocock.wordpress.com/category/aaron-pocock/

Who is your publisher? It used to be Murdoch Books. They have sold themselves to A&U and basically are now an imprint. They dropped their young adult fiction list when they went over, which was basically only a sideline and I was the only one on it. A real shame. If the publisher who started the list had remained, I think she would have continued to support me as a writer. However, I am thoroughly enjoying my indie journey. Not that there is any money in it. Least ways, I haven’t see any!

What was the hardest part about writing this book? The alternate reality stuff can always be challenging. I love books that have a story within a story, and I think alternate reality stories are a little like that, but they can be difficult to right, and to keep the logic straight and believable.

How do you promote this book? I am still trying to work that out. It’s not easy. I get really excited and say a lot, then I suddenly go quiet and you may not hear from me for weeks. It’s quite bipolar. I try at least to be interesting. Avoid the tacky buy me! buy me! buy me! Though, amazingly, people who do that say it works. I guess that’s why they do it.

Will you write others in this same genre? I will write others. I can’t stop myself. And I will always zoom off on tangents, mystical, alternate reality, whatever. But I honestly don’t know until I start writing, just what I will be writing. Surely others must be the same.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? There are quite a few messages. There hidden everywhere. Up, down and wedged between the cracks. But I really don’t mind if readers don’t grasp one or any. Some will, I expect. I do hope readers will re-read my stuff. I think that is when they are likely to decode some of this other stuff.

Book 1 of the young adult sci-fi fantasy series.

The future. It’s all about friendship, love … and dangerous video games.

Launched at the Melbourne Writers’ Festival by the Australian of the Year, 2010.

(This is the kindle ebook edition of the previously trade-published paperback EleMental.)

Winner of the Young Adult Fiction for manuscript development at Varuna Writers’ House (Australia’s only national writers’ center).

Bookseller+Publisher review:
‘… a fantastic and exciting debut novel by Steven O’Connor … entertaining mix of futuristic sci-fi, horror, action and angst … this reads like Philip K Dick for teenagers. With the narrative sneakily shifting between the real and virtual worlds, O’Connor explores some fairly complex and sophisticated issues in a thrilling and accessible way.’Bookseller+Publisher, June 2010.

The story:

Willis, a loner not by choice, is gradually drawn into friendship with Zeb – cool and reckless – and into love with Arizona – bold and untouchable.

Set in 2050, the three teenagers encounter a deadly new virtual reality game called EleMental. Deliberately designed to be highly addictive, to control rebellious asteroid miners, EleMental has a byproduct no one was ready for: gameblur. One moment, you’re at your desk, the next, you’re battling something half-dinosaur, half-tank.

What Amazon reviewers are saying:

• 5.0 out of 5 stars. ’Clever, fast-paced and brilliant. A masterpiece from a genius in this genre. I highly recommend this book.’ (G. Bachelard)
• 5.0 out of 5 stars. ’I bought EleMental for my 11-year-old son and he loved it. Intrigued, I read it myself. Highly recommended.’ (Euan Mitchell)
• 4.0 out of 5 stars ‘I got this when it was in paperback. I really liked it. Now I see it’s on Amazon as an ebook … I’m getting it again.’ (Angry customer)

If you enjoy fast-paced action, strong characters, and a fun writing style, then EleMental: A First-person Shooter is for you! Download a sample or buy the book today.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Young Adult / Science Fiction

Rating –PG

More details about the author

Connect with Steven O’Connor on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://stevenoconnorwriting.com/