Renee Scattergood: Author Interview

Interview with author Renee Scattergood

What inspired you to start writing?

 I’ve always loved telling stories, but never thought to write them down until I was in college. My English instructor always made me read my creative writing work to the class, and asked me one day if I planned to publish any of my work. At the time I told him no. I didn’t think I would ever be able to do that. I still had a hard time sharing what I wrote with people at that time, but it was a thought that stuck with me and a couple years later I started seriously considering it.

 What is your ideal writing setting?

 I’m pretty easy. I can write just about anywhere. Noise doesn’t even bother me. In fact, I think sometimes it helps.

 Who are some of your favorite authors? Why do you like them?

 Right now there are three authors I love so much I have to read all their work. The first is Terry Goodkind who wrote the Sword of Truth series. He creates these worlds that you can really get lost in. I can picture the world and the characters in my head. It really comes alive for me and I love that. He also incorporates so many elements in his stories, romance, adventure, magic, etc. They never get boring, and I can never guess what’s going to happen next. Books that are too predictable tend to bore me.

The other author is an indie author, Lindsay Buroker, who wrote The Emperor’s Edge series among other things. I downloaded the first book of her first series because it was free and I was hooked. There are eight books in the series and I bought and read all of them in a month and a half. I think what drew me to this series first was the fact that it has an assassin in it, and for some reason I just have this thing for assassin’s in fiction. But what kept me coming back was the excitement. Like Terry Goodkind, she incorporates so many elements in her stories and they are so unpredictable.

Then there is Melissa Barker-Simpson, another indie author who has since become a friend of mine. I read her book, Sins of the Father, the first book in her Morgan and Fairchild series when I participated in a blog tour for her and I was hooked. The shocking thing is these books are not fantasy, which is normally what I prefer to read. They are crime stories, romances, mysteries and thrillers all rolled into one. What hooked me is her incredible characters. I fell in love with them right from the start.

 What kind of books do you write?

 I write fantasy with elements of science fiction, adventure, and romance. My stories also tend to be a bit on the darker side.

Which of your characters do you find you relate to the most? Which do you relate to the least? Who is your favorite villain?

 I relate to Auren from my Shadow Stalker series the most. She has adopted a lot of my personality. I think I relate to Drevin, the emperor of the Galvadi Empire, the least and he happens to be my only villain at the moment.

 Tell us a little about your book/series: the characters, the setting, the themes.

 Shadow Stalker is a serial I publish monthly about a young shadow stalker, Auren, who was marked for death from the moment she was born. Drevin, a former shadow stalker, had a dream she would enslave the people of the Serpent Isles. Kado is her mentor and protector. He has raised her from birth and kept her identity hidden until the Galvadi invaded, and he had no choice but to tell her who she was and why he had kept her hidden.

The Serpent Isles are an island chain on a world that consists of many island chains, most of which are uninhabitable because of extremely dangerous wildlife and plant life. The shadow stalkers are from a small hidden island called, the Dark Isle, which is hidden and can only be found by other shadow stalkers.

Shadow stalkers have powers that originate from a place called the shadow world. The shadow world is where the shadow people, spirits of the dead, live. It’s the shadow people who give the shadow stalkers their powers. They have been created for a specific purpose, which will be revealed in later episodes. 😉

 Have you ever considered writing something outside of your comfort genre?

 Actually, I’ve started writing sci-fi and erotic romance under a pen name. It’s very new for me, but I’m enjoying it so far.

Do you have any pet peeves when it comes to writing?

Editing. I seriously hate editing, but I recently read a book called 2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love by Rachel Aaron and she suggests a different editing method. If it works, I might actually start liking it.

What do you do to relax and have fun when you aren’t writing?

I love to read. 😀

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Author Biography

Renee Scattergood lives in Australia with her husband, Nathan, and daughter, Taiya. She

Now she enjoys writing fantasy. She is currently publishing her monthly Shadow Stalker series, and she has also published a prequel novella to the series called, Demon Hunt. Aside from writing, she loves reading (Fantasy, of course), watching movies with her family, and doing crafts and science experiments with her daughter. Find out more about her, and sign up for her newsletter on her blog: http://reneescattergood.com

Find out more about Renee Scattergood

Renee Writes: http://reneescattergood.com/ Her personal website and blog.
Renee’s Author Spotlight: http://reneesauthorspotlight.blogspot.com.au/
– a blog where she features indie and small press authors.

Renee’s Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00NTJY1W2
Renee’s Smashwords Author Page: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/rscatts
Renee’s Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/reneescatts
Renee’s Twitter:
https://twitter.com/ReneeScatts
Renee’s Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/118427336236369690813/+ReneescattergoodAuthor/posts

Renee’s Books: The Shadow Stalker Series

Shadow Stalker is an ongoing monthly serial about a young shadow stalker, Auren, who, according to the emperor of the Galvadi Empire, will enslave the people of the Serpent Isles if she is not stopped. It’s a story about how she comes to learn the truth of who she is and what she will have to do to put a stop to the emperor’s tyranny.

So far there have been nine episodes published. Each episode is generally released on the last Saturday of each month.

Reviews: 

“This was an emotional episode, one which hooked me so deeply I felt part of the story itself. I was anxious to discover Auren’s fate since we were left on a cliff hanger and in the middle of a storm no less. Like any series, where the characters are familiar, I couldn’t wait to spend time with them again.” ~ Melissa Barker-Simpson on Episode 4, Forbidden Love

“Shadow Stalker (Episode 5), by Renee Scattergood, simply blew me away. It is an awesome episode that is full of action, betrayal, emotion, love, pain, punishment, and regret. Author, Renee Scattergood, has a way of pulling the reader into the story where he/she feels what the characters are going through.” ~ Debra Mauldin

“Renee Scattergood, once again, orchestrates her engaging story-telling skills with the continuation of her series in Episode 7, Bound by Fate. Renee has enlisted the venerable 19th Century custom of serial novels such as Dickens employed to great effect except now it is the digital eBook format that tantalizes her audience.” ~ RJ Mirabal

Download Shadow Stalker: The Hidden Truth (Episode 1) free: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/470837

Shadow Stalker: The Hidden Truth (Episode 1) 

Shadow stalkers, a shamanic-like race of humans, are believed to be extinct. Their power was so feared by the people of the Serpent Isles, an island chain in the otherwise barren north that some people prefer to pretend that they never existed.

The Galvadi, a society of religious zealots, wages war on the Coalition, who oppose the empire’s immoral practices. The Galvadi believe the Coalition is hiding a young shadow stalker who is destined to enslave the people of the Serpent Isles. But only one man knows of this shadow stalkers current location, and he is sworn to protect this child of prophecy.

Auren Trask always knew there was a secret about her past, but she was content to live a normal life. Then a camping trip with her friends turns to disaster when they find themselves on the run from a Galvadi invasion. With the help of Auren’s foster father, Kado, they manage to escape, but then he reveals, to Auren, the secret of her past. A truth that will change her life forever.

• Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/470837

Demon Hunt (A Shadow Stalker Prequel Novella)

Auren longs for adventure and a break from her tedious life on Appolia. It’s the start of summer, and she is looking forward to her yearly camping trip with her foster father, Kado. She believes these trips are for fun, but when they arrive on Luten Isle, Kado informs her that she is a shadow stalker, and she is in training.

One morning, Auren decides to take her training into her own hands. She only means to practice seeing the veil to the shadow world, the world of the shadow people and the source of their power. Instead, she opens the veil releasing a demon, a guardian of the shadow world, into the physical world.

With the deadly beast loose, she and Kado don’t have long to hunt it down and return it to where it belongs, or many innocent people could die.

• Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/490617
• Kindle: http://amzn.to/1KSAp1x
• Paperback: http://amzn.to/1cEx1fu

Shadow Stalker Part 1 (Episodes 1 – 6)

The Hidden Truth (Episode 1)

A young shadow stalker is destined to enslave the people of the Serpent Isles, and the Galvadi Empire want this child of prophecy dead. Auren Trasks perfectly normal life is disrupted when the Galvadi invade, and she learns a startling secret about her past. A secret that will change her life forever.

The Delohi-Saqu’s Fate (Episode 2)

Auren is being targeted by the Council of Elders, and the only one who could put an end to their corruption is her father. But leaving the Dark Isle would turn Kado against her.

Shadows’ Betrayal (Episode 3)

After seeing the monster she will become, Auren swears not to leave the Dark Isle. Despite that, the elders are conspiring against her. To escape their scheming, she and Kado decide to explore the Dark Isle. But worse things await them in the forests.

Forbidden Love (Episode 4)

Kado and Auren survive a deadly storm, but when Auren is forbidden from pursuing love with another young shadow stalker, will it be enough to drive a wedge between her and her foster father?

Destiny Reconciled Part 1 (Episode 5)

Auren and Kado accept that they may not be able to avoid her leaving the Dark Isle. Now they have to prepare for that eventuality. Will the training be more than Auren can handle?

Destiny Reconciled Part 2 (Episode 6)

Cathnor has been arrested and is facing a death sentence. The Dark Isle is out of control, and Kado is the only one who can help his people. So he prepares Auren for the possibility that she may have to leave the Dark Isle without him and face her destiny alone, but can she leave him and do what must be done?

• Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/524952
• Kindle: http://amzn.to/1PLjuzu
• Paperback:

Shadow Stalker: Bound by Fate (Episode 7)

Auren escapes the Dark Isle to find things are worse on Appolia than she imagined. Very few have survived the invasion of the Galvadi Empire, and even her best friend, Jade, has gone missing.

While attempting a rescue, Auren is captured and faces abuse and torture at the hands of her enemies. She knows as long as she can hide her true identity, she might succeed in helping the Coalition, but one of the Galvadi knows she is the delohi-saqu. For his silence, she is forced to pay the ultimate price.

• Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/530774
• Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00V9HEA8Q

Shadow Stalker: Broken (Episode 8)

Auren finds a way to escape the pain of her torture, but when Makari realizes it’s preventing him from “cleansing” her, he finds ways of randomizing the pain to keep her present. Still, she does not succumb to the torment.

When Makari can’t get through to her, he decides Drevin, the emperor of the Galvadi, is right. Auren is the delohi-saqu. Now Makari is no longer concerned with cleansing her because the delohi-saqu cannot be cleansed. He resorts to more sadistic methods to extract information about the Coalition. If Auren can’t resist, her friends and hundreds of innocent people will die.

• Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/539662
• Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WZEB0TY