It ain't over till it's over... But just so you know, it's over on Tuesday

Hi there, Nicole Kimberling here with the Blind Eye Books 2011 Round Up and Jamboree. We will be here for three whole days answering questions and giving away prizes! Today, I’ll talk to Ginn Hale about the upcoming release, His Holy Bones, the tenth and final book of her ongoing novel serialization, The Rifter. Tomorrow, Josh Lanyon and Astrid Amara will be join Ginn and I to talk about our 2012 release, a shared-world anthology called Irregulars. And finally on Saturday, Astrid Amara brings her own wacky sense of humor to the island when she interviews the main characters from Irregulars about what it takes to be an agent in the super-secret Division of Irregular Affairs.

But first things first. Ginn Hale is known to most people as the author of the Gaylactic Spectrum Award winning novel Wicked Gentlemen. This year Blind Eye Books teamed up with online indie ebook wizards Weightless Books, to digitally serialize Ginn’s epic fantasy novel, The Rifter.

For those of you unfamiliar with the story, here’s the upshot:

When John opens a letter addressed to his missing roommate, Kyle, he expects to find a house key. Instead he is swept into a strange realm of magic, mysticism, revolutionaries and assassins. Though he struggles to escape, John is drawn steadily closer to a fate he shares with Kyle—to awaken the destroyer god, the Rifter, and shatter a world.

I adore this complex and amazing story so much that I could go on about it for days, but I thought that most readers here on the island would prefer to hear about The Rifter from Ginn Hale herself.

Nicole: When I suggested that The Rifter was a good candidate for reviving the 19th century practice of serializing fiction, did you think I was off my nut?

Ginn: Hmmm… how to answer tactfully… I was pretty surprised by the thought of releasing the book in ten segments. But after we talked a little I started to see how it could all work and I got excited about the whole idea. Soon I realized that you were right on your nut as always!

Nicole: Now that Rifter Book 10, His Holy Bones, is about to be released, how do you feel about the success of the project?

Ginn: I’ve been very pleasantly surprised to discover just how many people wanted to discuss the plot as it developed. It was really fun to hear all their ideas and answer their questions. It brought back the whole reason I love writing, which is to share stories.

Nicole: One of the fantastic things about this whole serialization experiment has been the response from the readers at Goodreads. I personally thought it was great to go chat with them and hear their theories as they all read along each month. But I was there as an editor and also a fan of your work. As an author, was it intimidating to participate in such a lively discussion of your work?

Ginn: I didn’t find it intimidating so much as slightly nerve-wracking because I had to be careful to keep my trap shut to avoid spoiling future releases.

The more I got to know the individual members of the Goodreads group the more I wanted to be able to re-assure them about their favorite characters or pass on “valuable” information. And once various delicious bribes began to be offered I really had to fight to clam up!

I’m feeling almost giddy about the release of book ten because I’ll finally be able to reply to people without having to edit myself for all potential spoilers.

Nicole: Did you have a favorite character in The Rifter?

Ginn: That’s a very tough question. It’s an epic inhabited by a good number of characters and I tried my best to make them all interesting. Though for me, as the author my enjoyment of the characters often differed depending on what I got to write about them.

For example I really enjoyed describing John’s experiences of geology and botany, particularly as the book went on and his awareness grew. Kyle was a joy for moody action; as an author I could always count on him for some cathartic butt-kicking. Ji was awesome for feeling wise and dangerous and Pesha almost bounded off the pages, she was so energetic, flirtatious and excited to fulfill her own potential. Of course, after a thousand pages certain characters actually started to give me a feeling of nostalgia. Both Alidas and Saimura were that way.


Nicole: Any last thoughts?

Just that I’m quite glad that you convinced me to serialize The Rifter. It’s been a pleasure and conversing with the Goodreads group not only allowed me to see my own work in an entirely different way but it also made me appreciate how involved, excited and clever readers really are.

To celebrate Ginn’s epic achievement, we’re giving away one complete Rifter subscription to one lucky commenter!

Got questions for Ginn? Ask away!