It's officially been a week since I've published my first book, Ruby Silverlock: Supernatural Explorer and needless to say, I'm still buzzing over the thrill of actually having published a book. It may be through self-publishing, but a book published is still a book published in the end.
If you're interested in checking it out, the book is available to buy in print and/or ebook format in all the online stores provided in this link: Ruby Silverlock: Supernatural Explorer | Universal Book Links Help You Find Books at Your Favorite Store! (books2read.com)
In the meantime, I thought I'd make this post to answer any questions that people may have and also to give more details about my book as much as I can. Anyone who still might be unsure about buying my book, hopefully this Q & A can clear everything up and maybe interest you in buying your own copy.
So without further ado, let's begin.
Question 1: What is the book about?
Ruby Silverlock: Supernatural Explorer is the story of a teenage girl named Ruby Silverlock. She was born with silver hair and nobody can explain why she was. As a result, she feels like an outsider in society and thus she dreams to be a supernatural explorer. She thinks that by finding the existence of strange creatures and entities other than herself out there, she won't feel so strange anymore and can finally feel normal. Her adventures will see her meeting all kinds of weird creatures, dabble in the world of magic, facing off larger-than-life villains and trying to avoid dangerous hunters who want to exterminate anything that's "not-of-this-world". She'll also discover there's more to her than she expected...
Question 2: What age group is your book for?
Ruby Silverlock: Supernatural Explorer is aimed for children aged 9 and up, but is also intended to be enjoyed by both children and adults. I want readers both young and old to be able to enjoy this and every other book I have planned for the series.
Question 3: How many books have you got planned for the series?
The Silverlock Sisters will have a total of nine books. That's the current planned total, though I may write more if anymore ideas come to me. For now, I plan for the series to have nine books.
Question 4: What are the titles of the other books?
I won't reveal all of them, but I'll at least tell you the titles of Books 2 and 3 for now:
Book 2: Emerald Silverlock: A Cruise To Adventure
Book 3: Sapphire Silverlock: The Curse of the Dragon Tattoo
Books 4-9 will carry the series name The Silverlock Sisters. The titles for Books 1, 2 and 3 are meant to emphasize that that particular character's the star of the book and Books 4-9 will be about all of them, so no need for a character focused title.
Question 5: Can you tell us a bit about the characters?
Sure can! Ruby Silverlock is a spunky and stubborn girl who once she's set her mind on something, there's no stopping her. But she's also a very nice and friendly girl (provided you don't annoy her or insult her for being weird) and very protective of her family and friends. Ruby feels like an outsider due to her strange silver hair and it's because of this as to why she wants to be a supernatural explorer. She thinks that by finding other strange beings in the world, she won't feel like an outsider anymore. After all, if things like monsters, aliens, dragons and magic exist, what's so strange about a silver-haired girl? I'll confess that Ruby is kinda based on myself a little. Her feeling like she's "not normal" is a bit like how because of my autism, I don't "feel normal" either, but Ruby will come to embrace her uniqueness and accept who she is, much like how I've done so throughout my life. Also she's a Pokémon fan just like I am. That's also from me. XD
Her sisters are Emerald and Sapphire Silverlock. Emerald is the youngest of the trio and is the one with the largest heart. She's very sweet and kind but also the most easily scared and the most sensitive of the three. Throughout the books, Emerald will have some of the biggest changes as she learns to become braver and will sadly have to accept that a kind gesture won't solve all her problems. But through it all, she'll remain ever gentle and kind. Sapphire is the middle child of the three and tries to be the voice of reason for Ruby. As a massive bookworm, she's also the smartest of the sisters and will get to put her brains to good use throughout the series once she becomes involved in Ruby's adventures.
The villain of Ruby Silverlock: Supernatural Explorer is Draven, the leader of the hunters and every supernatural creature's worst enemy. Whether you're an alien, a dragon, a troll, a goblin, a unicorn or ANYTHING that dabbles in magic, he wants you dead and doesn't care if you're harmless. He was nearly killed by a yeti and is only alive thanks to advanced cybernetics. As a result, he uses his near death as a means to motivate his actions so that nobody else has to suffer what he went through. He is impossible to reason with and thus Ruby and her sisters will have to be aware whenever he's on the prowl...
I have more villains planned for future books with the main villain of the entire series being a demon named Lord Hallows. He is the overarching threat of The Silverlock Sisters and the mystery behind who he is and what his plans are will be what ties all the books together. His actions are also what the characters will be experiencing the aftermath of for he's had quite an impact on the world that it still hasn't recovered from even in the present day. What do I mean by that? Can't tell you: spoilers. =P
Question 6: Will there be any romance in the series?
Maaaaaaaaaaaybe. You'll have to read the books to find out. ;)
Question 7: What's the world of The Silverlock Sisters like? Can you share any details?
It's pretty much our world, only monsters and aliens exist. The books are set in a fictional town called Galarsfield which has a reputation for supernatural sightings and weird encounters with its ancient history even including unusual sightings. Magic also exists in this world, but thanks to the hunters and their long history of killing anything abnormal, it's very rare to find any magic users these days. People born with silver hair have something special about them, but I won't tell what it is. Once again, you'll have to read the books to find out.
The plots are as simple as conjuring up whatever scenario I can think to put the girls in and what kind of villains they'll face in those scenarios. While most of the plots are made up from the top of my head, the plot of the second book will take inspiration from a holiday cruise around Norway I went on last year.
Question 8: What inspired you to write this series?
I originally created the Silverlock sisters as characters for Pokémon fanfics I wrote to keep me busy during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and 2021. I grew to love developing them and writing their characters so much that I thought "What if I could tell my own story with them?" and so I decided to see if I could craft my own world for them and their own stories to tell. The town they live in is inspired by the town I live in and the theme of supernatural exploration came from an interest in fantasy settings where you have an ordinary world with extraordinary encounters.
And as a bonus, I have a question from fellow author and a very close friend of mine, R.M. Walls (The Solitale Vampires and Misty Beetle). He asks:
Question 9: Hello again my friend. Though you know me well, I felt it was best to take part in this Q&A. Here’s my question: I know what you have planned beyond The Silverlocks, but do you have anything else planned beyond that certain project?
I have at least two other series of books planned for when I'm done with The Silverlock Sisters.
One is a trilogy called The Masters of Dreki, another fantasy adventure series but this will be in a medieval world and will see humans and dragons in harmony with one another that will be put to the test when Death itself tries to destroy everything they've worked hard to build. This one will be aimed more for teens and adults, unlike The Silverlock Sisters which is aimed for children, teens and adults.
The other is another series aimed for children aged 9 and above too. It's called Shandria and will be a series set in a China-inspired world of colourful talking animals that live in kingdoms for mammals, reptiles, insects and sea life. This series will be a long runner, possibly nine books each divided into their own trilogy and will feature plenty of action, drama and romance.
I also have a spin-off title for The Silverlock Sisters I may work on which will be about a troll girl and a human boy bonding together, an idea that you suggested to me actually. ;)
Once the final book in The Silverlock Sisters is completed, I'll be working on those next.
Question 10: Will your books be available in bookstores?
For the moment, no. You can only buy them online. I'm only a self-published author after all. But who knows, maybe if I get popular enough and attract enough attention, actual bookstores might want to sell my book too. We'll have to wait and see for now. Until then, you can only find them in the online stores provided in this link: Ruby Silverlock: Supernatural Explorer | Universal Book Links Help You Find Books at Your Favorite Store! (books2read.com)
And that's it for this Q & A. I hope that cleared up any questions you might have regarding me and my books and I hope I can at least tempt you to check them out for yourself. If not, then I hope you still found this an interesting read anyway. :)
Thanks for reading everyone and I'll see you again on Friday for my Top 10 Favourite Bon Jovi Songs post. See you then media fans!
Been reading this book. Pretty great story. :D
Chuffed to have questioned.