Hi!
I’m Abi Barden, and I am looking forward to spending some time with you today.
First off, thank you to Coffee Time Romance and More! for offering me this blog day. It’s very generous and truly appreciated. The reason for all this is that today sees the release of “Flights” the concluding installment in my series, Aether Chronicles.
My plan for the day is that I will introduce myself a little, tell you about my world and my main characters, give a quick rundown of each of the books (no spoilers!), and share a little of “Flights” with you. The picture, by the way, is Amethyst. Well okay – it’s a model whose name I don’t know, but I love the image and the book covers are beautiful.
If you’ve got any questions, put them in the comments and I’ll answer as soon as I see them.
So a little about me. Day to day, I am a structural editor, which means I’m often one of the first people to see a manuscript outside of the authors immediate circle. I will winkle out loose ends and story arcs that don’t work. I look at story, flow, characterisation, any issues regarding dialogue, and even grammar. So if you have a manuscript, you want edited, I’m your girl.
I started writing steampunk after seeing an advert for a short story competition. The prompt was “Mysterious Islands” and I instantly saw the story I wanted to tell. Unlike most short story competitions, especially in the UK, this one allowed for stories up to 10,000 words. That gave me plenty of room for story and character development.
Given that I had no experience writing steampunk, I researched the genre and reader expectations to ensure I kept on track. Apparently, that worked, because the story was accepted for publication. The story, “The Steel Inside”, was published as part of the “Steel & Bone” anthology.
After that, I had an idea for a book, which became “Shades”, book 1 of Aether Chronicles. Before I finished that, I realised Amethyst and all the other characters in my head had a lot more to do and say. They inspired the rest of the series.
Ah yes, one other thing I should mention, if you do look at “Steel & Bone”, you won’t find Abi Barden listed as an author, because that story was published under my real name, Gail B Williams. Abi Barden is my pen name. Barden is what the B stands for. Abi comes from Abigail, the root of my name, and the alternative contraction. The reason I use a pen name will be revealed in a later post.
If you want to know anything about me, here are the links you can follow:
Website: gailbwilliams.co.uk
Facebook: Shades of Aether
Twitter: @ShadesOfAether
On my website, you’ll also find a contact page and there you can sign up for my newsletter, to keep up to date with all that I’m doing. If you sign up between June 1 and June 8, you’ll be in with a chance to win a free download of “Shades” from Audible.
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