Ocera launched on December 4, 2011, and we have an exclusive interview with the author, Joelle D. Haskell, about the process, the characters in Ocera and more!

So firstly, how about a little about yourself. How long have you been writing?

I started writing as soon as I could write — little comics with just the words “yes” “no” and “hello” when I was 4, then short stories in kindergarten once I was really literate, which is when I started to actually use word processors as well (or game-writing programs like Orly’s Draw-a-Story). I’ve just always had a writing project for almost my entire life, getting longer and more seriously-toned as I got older.

How long have you been working on Ocera? What was the process like? Did you have a frame work planned, or did you write without caution?

Ocera came about oddly. It started when I was just drawing some spooky monsters, practicing exaggerated anatomy, and giving them names and such. I then used those monsters in a completely ad-libbed fantasy story that I never finished, but I liked the characters so much that I kept them and started role-playing with them. Then as they developed further via RP, particularly the villain Dech, I asked myself what would make someone act that way — how did he get to that point in his life where he’s so cruel? I always hated the line of thought that demons, goblins, werewolves or what-have-you are automatically evil; I give all of my sentient creatures human-like psyches, so Dech required a logical history to back it up. Ocera happened as a result.

Because it was a backstory there was some framework necessary; I knew certain things had to happen, because he said they happened IC, and the rest I filled in with transitory scenes as needed. Many things were things I knew happened, but my fellow roleplayers didn’t, which allowed me to surprise them even when the ending itself was a foregone conclusion.

What types of books do you most like to read? Any genre or authors or books that stuck out as particularly inspiring?

I like to read everything, but mostly fantasy, horror and classical literature, with some sci-fi or franchise-tie-in works (and comedies). John Steinbeck, Ray Bradbury and Tolkien inspired me the most because of the way they craft sentences and words, not sticking to the normal syntax, not using trite cliché phrases but making up their own wonderful euphemisms and imagery. Reading old classics also reminds me of how elegant authors used to write, like Charles Dickens and Rudyard Kipling for example; maybe it was the ‘norm’ back then, but it’s unusual and interesting from a modern perspective.

Stephen King also inspired me — not with his scares, but his characters. Each book is fleshed out with a massive plethora of individually named people, all with their own histories and families; nobody pops out of a vacuum, fully-formed for no reason. I connected to them all better, and it made the danger more suspenseful. Yet he never introduces characters just to kill them off like a slasher flick. He often gives his heroes happy or bittersweet endings, with some positive messages about morality and maturity in there too.

What was your favourite character in Ocera and why? Who did you feel the most emotionally connected to through writing?

The main character Dech, but I enjoy roleplaying him more than just writing him, because he’s got a lot of me in him. He’s prone to rambling in soliloquy, brooding over his past and allowing them to affect his every action, and showing off his intelligence and fashion (though moreso later on, not as much in the Ocera story itself). I also like him for the parts that aren’t me, like wanting to insert himself as the main attraction in any event or gathering, being an intensely sexual being, and loving to sarcastically pick apart everyone around him (these too were later developments of his character).

I also really like his mom Ruth, as she’s based on my own mom and some of my best friends, and it’s also fun to roleplay a fierce mother-bear character.

Playing his daddy Harz is a hoot too, as is writing any of his dialogue. He’s horrible and creepy and uses up all of his intellectual energy just to say things that make people uncomfortable and afraid. His behaviour makes it highly cathartic to any roleplay group where they actually get to kill him.

Are you working on any other books right now?

Sort of. I’m mostly editing up the Ocera sequels/short stories to publish them too. I have my NaNoWriMo project, a light-hearted sci-fi adventure, that I’m not far from finishing, a somewhat gritty Pokemon fanfic, and a vampire story. Not to mention some Alternate Universe/”and then what?” storylines in the Ocera series. As an Alternative Universe’s ending is NOT foregone, I have more freedom with plot twists in those.

What type of person will this book appeal to?

I’m not even sure. It’s so brutal sometimes. I know it appeals to my roleplay group because the characters are known to them, but I don’t know how to define its market otherwise.

I’m sure some people would find titillation in it, and many would feel too uncomfortable to read it at all, and hopefully the rest would find some insight into abuse (if they are unfamiliar), or find something recognizable and sympathetic (if they are familiar).

How long did editing take? Did you do all the editing yourself?

I did, but I didn’t really edit it much. Sometimes I look at it and think, “I could have worded that differently”, but I think it’s still too fresh for me to have tackled objectively enough to make real changes.

How long did the formatting and preparation of the book for sale take?

A few days, which included spell checking and such. I write in WordPad initially which has no spellchecker. Amazingly, there were still very few errors; I think working without autocorrect or helpful reminders of squiggly red lines made me more aware of my own writing and led to fewer mistakes.

Do you hope or plan on publishing in paperback form eventually? Why or why not?

It would be nice, but I don’t think it’ll happen. It’s not very mainstream.

Did you try to publish with a traditional house or did you feel that self publishing was the best way to go? What made you decide that?

I considered traditional publishing and did a lot of research but no one I saw really wanted a story like mine. While a “fantasy” work, its main themes are of kidnapping, rape, abuse, motherhood and abortion, and how different kinds of people deal with those things in their lives. It’s mainly about three individuals suffering at one villain’s hands, all changing in wildly different ways, based on people I have actually known. It seems highly niche, not to mention being rather R-rated. Self-publishing also gave me total editing, pricing and illustrating freedom.

Speaking of, you actually illustrated the cover. What was that like?

I just took a part of this picture for the cover, and looked at various other fantasy novels to see what sort of font styles they used for their covers. For the interior there’s less wiggle room, since the text must be formatted to Kindle’s specs, so instead I took assorted sketches of the characters and added them in an appendix.

How much of a cut does Amazon take from each sale?

Depends. Within a certain price range, they get 30% ($0.99 to $9.99, I think). Above that, they get 75%, I believe. Most e-books sell within the former range. You’d have to have a massive wordcount to justify a price high enough for the latter.

Did you look at other self publishers? What made you decide to go with Amazon?

I read an article talking about the pros and cons of various publishers. I went with Amazon because I liked their royalties best, and I’ve also used their Payments service before and had no problems with it. Plus it’s just more mainstream, so I felt I’d get a bigger audience.

How long is the book?

Around 50,000 words. There’s also some illustrations and a poem bookending it, which I plan to do for the rest of the series; there are a lot of images and poems (written from the point of view of the characters) that go with each tale.

What type of marketing or advertisement have you done, or are you planning to do? Have sales so far been better or worse than expected?

I advertised it on DeviantArt, Tumblr, Facebook, Blogspot and AIM so far. I’ve made some sales, though not a lot; ironically, the people I know who’d be most interested are the least likely to buy it, because they already read it before. I’ve decided to advertise it in the form of quotes/snippets every few weeks or so on FB and maybe elsewhere, to generate more interest and sort of remind people about it over time.

What part of the whole process did you enjoy the most? The least?

The actual writing I enjoy. The formatting… not so much.

You can buy Ocera on Amazon.com for your Kindle for $3.99.

As well, you can watch her DeviantArt, visit her blog and read the Ocera Q&A, though be warned that there will be spoilers.

*Originally posted at Pathforgers by Anjasa.*