Why you collaborate with your husband and start writing rollicking, hair-raising, fun-filled adventures for kids, that's what.
Choosing the pen name EG Foley, the E is for her husband, Eric and the G is for her Irish name, Gaelan, together they embarked on not just writing together, but publishing electronically. Gaelan left the safety of traditional books and decided to let go and do something fun.
First, let me tell you about Gaelan. She is one of the hardest working, most dedicated authors I've ever met. She sets goals for herself that are strict and she stays on track. It takes her about eight months to complete a book and her research is absolutely thorough.
That's why I was curious when I found out she'd done a children's book.
I had questions.
Kitty: Gaelan, this is so different for you. What inspired this story?
Gaelan: Frankly, I think it was leftover Dickens. All of these romance stories I write, well, they have these orphan kids. I wanted to do something with them. You see, when I finish writing one of my romances I need something to give me a break, so often I'll pick up a kid's middle-grade book.
Kitty: Your husband, Eric, teaches middle grade, right?
Gaelan: Right. So i wanted to do something, I wanted to do a quest.
Kitty: You've written quite an adventure, and it's full of lots of creatures. How did that happen?
Gaelan: My novels are Regency novels, well, the sun never set on the British Empire so as I wrote I decided I could use all the magical creatures everywhere.
Kitty: Even an angel?
Gaelan: Even an angel. I decided to do that because I wanted to signal to my readers that Jake's world is within a context of a greater world.
Kitty: And you've done something that children's writers are told to avoid, you've used multiple viewpoints.
Gaelan: Yes, I did. I wrote it in the way that would be enjoyable and I ignored the rules. i thought kids could handle it. I did try to take out some of the different viewpoints and the story lost emotion and texture.
Kitty: What age do you think this series is for?
Gaelan: Nine to twelve. Most of the fan mail is from nine-year-olds.
Kitty: How about the decision to do it as an ebook?
Gaelan: If readers want a hard copy, that can be ordered. But as far as the ebook, when we started we haired someone to help us format it, but now Eric can do it. It was hard to get used to the difference in sales, electronic versus traditional. When you have a traditional book come out there's a huge push at the beginning. With the ebook it is something that has to build. We've noticed a push in sales since we got noticed in Amazon with the "Also Boughts" that put us with Rick Riordan's books.
Kitty: What about editing with the ebook?
Gaelan: Oh, we have a good copy editor, and that's important. They catch things you just don't see. Sometimes what's in your head and what's on the page need tuning. I have to watch for repeating words.
Kitty: Are you pleased with how things are going?
Gaelan: You bet. We've had the first book optioned and it's on its way to Hollywood to see if a producer might be interested.
Kitty: That's so exciting. What's next?
Gaelan: The second book, "Jake and the Giant" is out and the third, "The Dark Portal" will be out in October.
Kitty: And I see that you're doing a series, "Fifty States of Fear."
Gaelan: These are spooky fun stories, a bit sci/fi, nothing that would cause nightmares for kids. They're short and there will be one for every state in the Union. I call them "Red, White, and Boo!"
Kitty: Fun. And how about your romance writing, anything new?
Gaelan: I just happen to have a new one, just out. "My Notorious Gentleman."
You can download a sample of "The Lost Heir" from Amazon. Try it! It really is a roller-coaster of an adventure!
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