Sharon Bayliss - Speculative Fiction Writer

I always have a stand-out read of the year spot. When I read Hugh Howey's Wool earlier this year, I decided it was going to be his book and that it would take a brilliant book to beat it. The Charge by Sharon Bayliss came close. While it didn't knock Wool off that top spot, it has joined it. If you like science fiction and alternate history, I urge you to read it. The Charge is well written, has a unique premise, is full of twists and turns, and engaging characters. You will not be disappointed.

Which is why I am delighted to be introducing Sharon Bayliss as this week's Speculative Fiction Writer. Over to you Sharon.






How to Re-Write History

Manipulating historical events, either for an alternate history novel or to deceive the masses, takes a lot of research.

Personally, my experience in re-writing history comes from writing my freshly released alternate history fantasy, The Charge (not from being a ruthless overlord). In The Charge, the state of Texas never joins the United States and instead becomes an independent nation. I've complied a set a tips for how to create a believable alternate timeline.

1) Determine and research your pivotal moment

To alter history, you don't necessarily need to be an expert on every single historical event, but you do need to be an expert on at least one pivotal moment--a place in history where if things happened differently it would have taken the timeline off course. Everything that happens before the pivotal moment stays the same, but everything that happened after is on an alternate timeline.

2) Read similar alternate histories

You obviously don't want to steal anyone else's idea, but you can get a solid sense of pivotal moments and possible alternate paths by learning from others. That knowledge makes it easier to come up with your own idea.

3) Start re-writing that timeline!

After you know about your pivotal moment, you have to follow the rest of history from that point and decide what happens next. I suggest a good old-fashioned timeline like we created back in school. Of course, everything that happens after your pivotal moment is in question, but to keep your head from exploding, focus on how the most important events changed.

You'll alter real events, and you may end up creating new events that never happened at all. When you're creating new events, I suggest modeling real world events. No one can say, "that would never happen", if actually did or almost did.

4) Edit with a critical eye

I suggest that you do a final read through where you're specifically looking for factual inconsistencies. Look for any references that could possibly have been altered by your change in timeline. Places, events, brand names, political figures, basically any proper noun.

Put on your critical super-geek pants to assess your work...or another critical super-geek might get you! :)

I hope that novelists and dictators found that helpful! Now go upset your history teacher!

Blurb:

When King of the Texas Empire kidnaps Warren's brother, Warren embarks into a still Wild West to save him. On his journey, he makes a discovery that changes his life forever—he and his brother are long-lost members of the Texas royal family and the King wants them both dead.

He gets help from an activist Texan named Lena, who's itching to take on the King and happens to be a beautiful firecracker Warren can't stay away from. Convincing her he's not one of the bad guys becomes harder when a mysterious energy stirs in his body, turning his brain into a hive of emotions and memories—not all his own.

A legacy of violence is not all he inherited from the brutal Kings of Texas. The myth that the royal family possesses supernatural powers may not be myth at all.

Gone are the days when choosing a major was a big deal. Now Warren must save his brother and choose whether or not to be King, follow a King, or die before he can retire his fake ID.


 

Book Links:

Amazon
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Barnes and Noble
Facebook
Goodreads

An audio recording of Sharon reading from The Charge
What Side Are You On? Quiz

Sharon Bayliss is a native of Austin, Texas and works her day job in the field of social work. When she’s not writing, she enjoys living in her “happily-ever-after” with her husband and two young sons. She can be found eating Tex-Mex on patios, wearing flip-flops, and playing in the mud (which she calls gardening).

You can connect with Sharon at www.facebook.com/authorsharonbayliss and www.sharonbayliss.com, or on Twitter.



Thank you for sharing your tips on how to write alternate history, Sharon. It's not something I've tried myself but you've certainly inspired me to try. I'm looking forward to reading more of your work.

I'll be back on Monday with a special cover reveal from Simon Kewin. You won't want to miss it! Have a great week.

Kindle News and Cover Reveal/Launch Day Help Request

Last week I did my first free promotion on Kindle Select. At the beginning of the week I was hoping for a couple of hundred downloads a day, which would mean around 1000 by the end of the week. I had no idea whether I would achieve this figure. I needn't have worried. By the end of the week, Passing Time was downloaded 851 times. Not quite the 1000 I hoped for (I'll explain more about that in a minute), but still a great figure. If only 5% of those readers leave me a review, that's potentially 42 reviews. As I'm sure most writers will agree, reviews are like lifeblood when it comes to book sales.

Now back to the 851 downloads. During the five free days I promoted Passing Time in the following ways:

On my blog.
Other bloggers (thank you to everyone who helped!).
Books sites promoting free Kindle reads.
Twitter.
Facebook posts and photo teasers.

Apart from my fellow writers who helped blog, tweet, and FB, I think one of the most important tools was my Passing Time Facebook page. I paid £7.00 to promote a post announcing my book was free on Kindle between May 13th to 17th. As some of you may know that £7.00 is slowly depleted as the amount of people who view the post increases. And it's not just people who have liked my FB page who see it, their friends do as well. The reason I believe the promoted post played such a key part was because I was averaging 220 downloads a day until my £7.00 was used up by the Thursday morning. That figure dropped to around 100 for the Thursday and Friday. Coincidence?

Of course I could have paid for an actual advert, which might have brought in countless downloads. But I could not justify the expense for a freebie promotion. What about you? Have you offered a book or story for free? How did you promote it? What worked and what didn't?

While I'm on the topic of Kindle and freebie promotions, Mark Knight's Blood Family: Quest for the Vampire Key is FREE this week. Grab your copy of his riveting vampire read between May 20th to 24th.

Amazon
Amazon.co.uk









Taking Time Cover Reveal and Launch Day

My science fiction short story collection, Taking Time, will be published July 15th.  I will be working on final edits during June, and the cover is currently being re-designed after I had a major rethink and changed some of the stories. I'm really excited and can't wait to share it with you.

As before, I am asking for help for the cover reveal and launch day. However, I have made the decision not to do a blog tour this time. A tour takes a considerable amount of time and effort, and I'm also working on a science fiction serial that starts in September. I want to conscentrate my full efforts on it as soon as possible. So, I only need help with the following:

June 17th Cover Reveal
July 15th Launch Day

If you can't do the exact date, posting any time afterwards would be just as helpful.

If you can help, please leave a comment below or email me at the usual address. As always, if there is anything I can help you with don't be afraid to ask. Don't forget to call back this Wednesday, when science fiction and alternate history writer, Sharon Bayliss, will be this week's Speculative Fiction Writer. Until then, happy writing.