I’d say my target reader is an adventurous, imaginative young adult who’s on the cusp of forming their own opinions of the world around them. This person is a seeker after knowledge who wants to explore and ask questions. 

Liz Kerin – 23 February 2017

The Back Flap

In a war-torn tribal city inhabited by mystical spirits, a young woman named Seicha is ritually sacrificed to a demon and must navigate the dangers of the Underworld to protect the family she left behind from beyond the grave.

About the book

What is the book about?

The Phantom Forest takes place in a tribal city inhabited by mystical spirits, where a young woman named Seicha is ritually sacrificed to a demon and must protect the family she left behind from beyond the grave. As she navigates the dangers of the Underworld, an unexpected love story unfolds between Seicha and the demon to whom she was sacrificed, who is serving an eternal sentence for a crime he committed against humanity hundreds of years ago.

When did you start writing the book?

I started writing The Phantom Forest about five years ago, right after moving cross country from New York to California.

How long did it take you to write it?

I took about a year and a half to complete a first draft, then spent another two years doing revisions. Because I was was freelancing as a screenwriter and working full time during this period, I often took long breaks between chunks of editing. I gave up a lot of lunch hours and weekend trips!

Where did you get the idea from?

It’s unclear exactly where Seicha’s character came from, but I know she’s been with me for a very long time. When I was about 12 years old, after learning about the ancient Mayans in school and how they would perform human sacrifices, I wrote a short story about a young woman who is sacrificed to an evil spirit but convinces him to spare her life when she’s able to teach him about human compassion and love (I had some pretty weird, dark sensibilities in 6th grade – a real ray of teenybopper sunshine). Nearly 15 years later, the story stuck with me and eventually became The Phantom Forest. I’ve also always been intrigued by the concept of reincarnation and am a big fan of Greek and Roman mythology, so the universe-building that went into the Underworld and the beliefs of Seicha’s people were very much inspired by that.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

Writing fast-paced action sequences in prose was a learned skill for me. Even though I come from a screenwriting background, which is highly visual and all about pacing, I initially went against my own instincts when I wrote action sequences in this book. I thought it was so necessary to describe every little detail, but it just made everything feel so sluggish. During revisions, I chipped away at every sentence till I felt like the pacing of the chapter matched the really tense action that was taking place.

What came easily?

The character relationships came the most easily to me. Seicha and Miko’s family bond was always so emotionally grounded and relatable for me, and the love story between Seicha and Haben had an arc that felt very natural and yet, unexpected. I really enjoy the way that particular relationship evolves in the book! My favorite thing about writing is crafting complex character relationships; to me, the best stories are the ones about people who discover one another for who they really are and learn important lessons about themselves as a result.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

Totally fictitious. I very rarely borrow from my own life when I write. But, I will admit that because I love creating characters so much and because my life is full of really unique people, I sometimes do notice little things about my characters that feel similar to certain friends or loved ones! It’s always 100% unintentional though; I guess I can’t help but absorb their awesome, memorable personalities!

We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?

Margaret Atwood is very special to me and has been a staple on my bookshelf since I discovered The Handmaid’s Tale my first year of college. Her unique brand of speculative fiction really inspires me. A lot of sci-fi and fantasy fare leans too heavily on escapism for my taste. But books like Maddaddam and Oryx and Crake, for example, show us that you can create a heightened world that also makes very clear commentary about our society and where we might be headed as a species. Throughout my childhood and teenage years, I was a huge fan of A Wrinkle in Time and The Giver by Lois Lowry (My brother and I even tried to write a musical based on The Giver when we were kids. Sadly, the show never extended past its first preview in the basement of our house).

Do you have a target reader?

For The Phantom Forest, I’d say my target reader is an adventurous, imaginative young adult who’s on the cusp of forming their own opinions of the world around them. This person is a seeker after knowledge who wants to explore and ask questions. They want to escape to another world when they read, but they also want to challenge themselves!

About Writing

Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?

Spotify playlists for days! I don’t necessarily listen to music while I write, but I curate a list of songs that remind me of whatever I’m working on and I listen to them at the gym, on hikes, in the car, pretty much anytime except for actual writing time. I spend a lot of time thinking about what I’m going to write before I start. I hear snippets of dialogue in my head and mull over what we in the movie-biz call “set-piece moments,” which are those big, memorable visuals that usually wind up in a trailer. I approach writing a book in very much the same way I’d approach writing a script. Unless I’m on some sort of deadline, being ready to start a draft is a really personal moment. It sounds corny and pretentious, but the story kind of tells me when it’s ready to start.

Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?

I definitely do outline, but it’s usually broad strokes. With Phantom Forest, I had two different locations and four different character perspectives I had to shift between, so outlining was super helpful in that sense. I liked to know which chapters I might explore Miko’s perspective, or General Simeon’s, and how long I ought to spend in each person’s head before I switched again.

Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?

For the first draft of Phantom, I waited until I got to the very last page to start editing. After that, I went out of order quite a bit. Sometimes I’d get an idea in the middle of shopping at the supermarket or being stuck in traffic, and it would be about a very specific scene or chapter, so I’d go back and revise that part while it still felt fresh.

Did you hire a professional editor?

I had a friend who I’d worked with in the world of online editorial take a pass at the manuscript early on, before I started submitting it anywhere. She was amazingly detail oriented and taught me all sorts of fun things, like how we use “towards” in conversation but technically “toward” is what we are supposed to use on the page (at least, if you’re in the USA! I think it’s different in the UK).

Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?

I don’t listen to music while I write, but as I said, I make playlists for everything I’m working on! I listen to them pretty much any other time of the day. For Phantom, my playlist was really varied—I listened to everything from Florence and the Machine to the scores from Princess Mononoke and Pan’s Labyrinth. It was a very whimsical soundscape!

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

I did, and I had a fairly enthusiastic response when I sent out my query letters. I had full MS requests from 5 different agencies, but in the end none of them panned out. I have awesome reps for my Film and TV work, which helps overall, but ultimately I learned that the book marketplace is very, very different!

What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?

The indie process found me, in a way. I submitted the MS to a competition called the Launchpad Manuscript Competition, which indie publisher Inkshares sponsors. When the book was selected as a finalist, Inkshares helped promote the book and I created a profile on their site. Inkshares combines a traditional publishing platform with crowdfunding, which gives me a little more creative control without having to fully commit to self-publishing. I am still in the funding phase of my campaign—the book needs to hit a minimum 250 pre-orders to be released by Inkshares! So if you’re a fan of what you see so far, definitely order yourself a copy today!

Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?

My final cover art is still in progress. It’s being designed by a fabulous young artist I knew when I lived in New York (who was actually a former student of mine!). You can check out some of her work here.

Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?

Thankfully, Inkshares will help with some of the marketing once I reach my funding goal. However, just spreading the word for the crowdfunding portion of this whole endeavor felt like its own form of marketing! I didn’t realize how much work it would be to get 250 people to order a book they’d never heard of!

Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?

If you’re crowdfunding, make sure you have a plan of attack before you launch your campaign. Know who your target audience is, who you’re going to ask for support, and be prepared to share lots of excerpts! It helps if you’re already finished with the book and feel confident about what you’ve got; a lot of people will start funding with just a proposal, but I think it’s so valuable to have the whole thing complete! Shooting a book trailer is also a great idea if you have filmmaker buddies or some experience yourself. It’s a fabulous way to help audiences visualize what your concept is.

About You

Where did you grow up?

My family moved a lot when I was younger; I was born in California in the Bay Area before we moved to Connecticut, then to Chicago, then back to Connecticut again when I was in middle school. After that I lived in New York City for 6 years, where I also went to college.

Where do you live now?

Now I’m in LA. It’s 60 degrees in January and I have zero regrets.

What would you like readers to know about you?

I’d love for everyone to know how special this story is to me and how excited I am to share it. It’s been a major passion project of mine; there’s a reason Seicha has stuck with me since I was 12 years old!

What are you working on now?

I’m working on two new film scripts and a sci-fi TV pilot. I’m also in the early stages of outlining two Phantom Forest sequels in hopes that the first one gets a warm reception! So if you’d like to see more, definitely spread the love!

End of Interview:

For more from Liz, follow her on Twitter. You might also want to check out the book’s trailer.

To order a copy of The Phantom Forest visit Inkshares.