← Living The Next Chapter: Candid Conversations with Authors and Writers for Readers Searching for a New Read
Living The Next Chapter: Candid Conversations with Authors and Writers for Readers Searching for a New Read
E674 - Hope Cole - Fantasy Author and Health Writer - Daughter of the Void
00:43:27
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- [00:01]
A
Oh, yeah. I actually don't know. So a fun. The reason this is called the Chains of Fate trilogy is because the overarching theme that Raelyn is facing is fate and destiny, which are these close but not the same concepts. Right. Where fate is kind of set in stone and destiny's got a little bit more loose wiggle room in there, but they're both kind of, like, predetermined. You're going down this road. So I have book three plotted out, except I haven't decided. And I don't know, maybe Raelyn hasn't decided exactly how. What choice she's going to make at the end. I can't give away too much more than that or else, you know. But, yeah, I actually. That is still up in the air. I haven't decided yet. I'll know when I type the words out, I guess.
- [00:53]
B
Everybody, welcome back to Living the Next Chapter, the Author podcast. If you've been, like, a little low in the. In your levels of hope right now, currently, as. As a reader, as an author, and you're like, I wish there was a little more hope out there. Well, I found hope, and hope is here with us, which is great. So we're gonna get a little bit more hope when it comes to our lives as authors and readers. And you're gonna love Hope here on the show. And she's a great author. She's got great stories to tell. Daughter of the Void is one of the amazing things she's been working on and many, many more things. So. HR Cole, welcome to the show. Nice to have you on the podcast.
- [01:33]
A
Yes. Thank you so much for having me.
- [01:35]
B
Excellent. It's good to have you here. I'm in Canada, you're in the U.S. so can you tell everybody exactly where you are in this big world of ours?
- [01:43]
A
I am in upstate New York. Nice. Nestled in the mountains, Finger Lakes region. So we have a. Yes, we have a lot of beautiful waterfalls and wineries, and it's a kind of a touristy destination, but it's a lovely place to live.
- [01:58]
B
Not too, too far from me in Niagara Falls area.
- [02:01]
A
No. Yeah, no.
- [02:02]
B
Good. I'll have to make a trip.
- [02:04]
A
Yeah. Oh, my gosh, anytime. Yeah. Show you around.
- [02:08]
B
Beautiful. I love it. We have authors who are listening to the show, and they are looking for inspiration from another author who is further down the road than they are. They're just starting out, and they're looking to somebody like you who's. Who's actually accomplished much more than they have at this point. And I would love to Know what would have been helpful for you to hear early on in your journey? Maybe from a podcast or a conversation or an author that you meet, something that would have been inspiring or helpful for you to hear in your early days and how. And let's, let's tell that author that's listening and give them some inspiration. But what would have been helpful for you to hear from another author when you first started writing?
- [02:52]
A
Probably to be forgiving and kind to yourself during your initial drafting process. I think we, we get hard on ourselves. We're like, I have to write every single day. I have to write for X hours every day. And the reality is that that's a really good recipe to burn yourself out. So if you love writing, if you're doing this because you love doing it, don't make it, you know, even if you're getting money from it, don't make it a quote unquote job. Because then the pressure of that, it can, it can weigh you down. It can lead to burnout. And then you don't want to write. And then suddenly more and more days go by and you have it written. So if you have a day where you sit down and you're just staring at the screen and you type out one or two words and you're like, no, this isn't right, and you delete them, you type another one or two words, you delete them, and you're just not making progr progress. It's okay to get up and just say, today's not the day. You know, reorient your mind to something else, you know, and, and just be kind to yourself about it. Don't get really hard on yourself. Don't be like, oh my gosh, I'm a failure because it didn't write today. That's not true. You know, it. You're. You want to write when you're going to be the most productive. And so you'll find that taking advantage of those days where you do, like, feel the flow, where you're in the zone, they outweigh and help balance the days that you need to take away from it. So I wish somebody had told me that is okay. It's okay not to write every day.
- [04:21]
B
That's good. That's good permission. I like that. When you were writing early days, did you have somebody that you looked up to, somebody that you wrote with, kind of in community, kind of. Tell me a little bit about your early days of writing.
- [04:34]
A
So my very early days of writing, I mean, we're talking, you know, grade school and on that was more or less just imagination carrying you through the day. I think a lot of kids, a lot of people can relate to the fact that school can be boring. And, you know, you're locked in a classroom for eight hours a day, and sometimes you need a break from the analytical work that you're doing because you're learning, you know, you're learning math and science and history. Sometimes you need a little bit of creativity in there. And schools try. They try with their art programs and, you know, gym class to break up the monotony a little bit. But I think that for me, in those days, creative writing and short story writing at that point was just a break, a break from it. And then later on, when I transitioned into, hey, I actually want to do this, maybe, you know, publish a book. My oldest brother, who is also an avid reader, he decided that he also wanted to write a book. And so we were like, well, let's do this together, you know, and we'll will each send each other our chapters and we'll provide feedback and the motivation to keep going. So. And he did. He also did publish a novel.
- [05:47]
B
Wow. Well, excellent. That's. See, no, that's encouraging. It's nice to have somebody in your family.
- [05:52]
A
Yeah.
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B
Also kind of loves what you're doing and on a similar path.
- [05:56]
A
Yeah.
- [05:56]
B
Because I think sometimes as creative people, some of our family members don't really understand what we're doing or why, and we have to kind of sell them on the idea that, oh, I'm gonna write a book, I'm gonna start a podcast, I'm gonna do whatever. And they're like, okay. But it's like, it's nice to have somebody with you, right?
- [06:13]
A
Yes. And honestly, that's probably my other big piece of advice is find your support system if you don't have those people actively around you in your life. Because, you know, even if family members are very loving and considerate, if they don't share the interest, it's sometimes difficult for them to show support. But find your people, you know, whether it's a writing community or down at the local bookstore or, you know, it, network, reach out. Nowadays we have the Internet. I mean, look at us. We're talking across the border country, borders, you know, so you find people out there who give you the support you might not have immediately surrounding, because support system is huge.
- [06:52]
B
Yeah. And the other thing I hear a lot from authors on the show is they get lots of great support in the process of writing. Editors, all these other people come along beside you, coaches and all that. The moment the book is done, it feels like everybody just leaves and kind of departs back into the forest. And you're standing there going, where did everybody go? Yeah, now I got to promote this thing. And you have to learn a new skill set. And for a lot of the authors I talk to, they're not the most out there type people. They like to write and be on their own and that's their happy place. But to get in front of a bunch of people and now to start promoting this book and holding it up and everybody can buy my book, it's. It feels like a little bit like a difficult challenge to learn a new skill to start promoting. Any tips for an author on promoting your books?
- [07:41]
A
You have to put yourself out there. And I will say, I am an introvert. I love to be at home in my little corner. Like, I even like it to be dark. My husband's a like, sunshine person, right. He likes the light in the house. And I'm like, turn the lights off. And you know, I'm not a cave person. But something really beautiful I think about human beings is that when we're faced with adversity, it's a really good opportunity to grow. So if you step out of your comfort zone and obviously it's uncomfortable to do that, just remind yourself that, that this is a personal growth opportunity and you're bettering yourself for it. And, you know, yes. No, I don't, I don't want to learn, you know, how to make the graphics for social media. And you know, I don't enjoy those things inherently, but I do them. And, and then once you do them enough and they become a skill and a habit and then suddenly it doesn't seem quite so daunting, but you just got to do it. Just grit your teeth and just put yourself out there and you'll be better for it.
- [08:44]
B
Okay, I like it. Let's talk about your author journey then, for the readers that are listening, because they're always interested to hear what you've worked on and what you're working on. What was your first thing you started working on? What was your first project? And is that your first book that we're talking about today? Was that your first attempt?
- [09:02]
A
It's not actually. So my very first book that was handwritten in one of those cute little journals you can still. The leather bound ones you can still buy in the bookstores. And it's just because I. It's kind of my way to show the people around me that I care, that that's how I express my creativity. So I wrote it and I put all my family members in the book and it was just this keepsake kind of thing. So that was the first quote unquote completed novel project. But in a professional light, I did publish a young adult novel. Oh boy. We're talking probably 12 years ago at this point. And it was a foot in the door. But there were a couple things in this learning process. A, back then we didn't have access to the resources that authors do now. Like now, now I can go on querytracker.com and there's this beautiful pre made format that tracks all my stuff and helps you write your letters. And when I first entered, I knew nothing about any of it. I just knew I wanted to write a book. And so I went to the library and I'm pulling out these books from like the 60s and 70s on how to write query letters. And so I was inexperienced. And while I do still love that first young adult novel that I published, I was new to it, the publisher was new to it. I didn't know how to market it, I didn't know what to do. And again, back then I certainly wasn't social media savvy. Social media. Instagram wasn't even a thing really. So you know, we were Talking like the AIM MySpace days and I, I just wasn't, I just never grew up with that. I didn't know anything about it as a young adult. And so, you know, I had, I had the book come out and it did poorly. And it's not because it wasn't a good book. It's because nobody knew about it. And I didn't know how to get that word out. And you know, when you work with a small publisher back then, it's not as easy, you know, they don't have as broad a reach as like the big five publishers do. They're not going to send you overseas or anything like that. So I was just like, well, it's, it's a credential, right? I have this book, I did it, I went through the process, they got it done and. But now I got to focus on real life, right? What can I do to make money in real life? And then, you know, work takes over. And I took a break between that novel and this one. So that was the first project.
- [11:37]
B
Do you still have copies of the book where you can through it and kind of. Is it nice to reminisce and kind of look through it?
- [11:43]
A
It is, it's, you know, there's parts of it that Are as a more experienced author now, you look back and you cringe a little bit, like at word usage or things like that. But I, I'm not, I don't look back at that as a negative experience. And there is a part of me that's like, you know, this was not a standalone book. It was written to be a part of several books and I should really go back and finish it. But that's going to be a back burner project if that ever happens.
- [12:14]
B
Okay. Yeah. So there might be an opportunity to go back and breathe new life in the story again.
- [12:19]
A
Oh, sure. The story itself, I, I really like and I, I think it's still fairly unique in the world of young adult novels that are out there currently. But it's. I wrote it at that time because I had nieces who were young adults. Now everybody's grown up now. I, you know, everybody in my family is an adult. And so my writing. And as I've grown as a writer, my writing has evolved into more adult prose and language. So that's where I find myself today.
- [12:51]
B
Let's talk about Daughter of the Void. Where was the idea for this book to come for you? This seems like a whole new world for you as an author, but. Yeah, where was the origin story of writing this book? How did this come to be?
- [13:05]
A
Well, a big part of it is, I would say, it's two different branches of concept. So first I had this really interesting idea for a novel magic system. And it comes from. I have this strange side hobby of, I like astronomy and theoretical physics. And so I'm very like, in awe of the unseen world to our seed world, you know, anti matter and black holes and things like that. So I was like, it would be really neat to convert that into a magic system. And so that set the stage for the, the framework of the world. And then as a young girl growing up in the 80s, I, you know, I was immersed in fantasy and fairy tales and these love stories. You know, the, the princess trapped in a tower and, and the heroic prince who comes to save her. So it. I always, in everything I read, even to this day, I always crave that element of wholesome romance. So I was like, well, it's got to be a mashup of the two, because ultimately I wrote the book to. Because I like it. Like, I didn't, I didn't write to market, so to speak. This is the kind of book that I would pull off the shelf and read. And so it appeals to the things that I look for in a book myself.
- [14:26]
B
Nice. Who would you say is your target audience for this? As the readers are listening, they're trying to figure out, is this a book for me, for someone I love in my family? Who would you say this is written for them?
- [14:37]
A
Well, it's definitely an adult book. It does have one explicit scene in it. So I would say anybody who's over the age of 18. And yeah, you know, I mean, I'm not going to limit it by, by gender either because it is a high fantasy story as much as it is a romance. So maybe romance is your thing, but you love immersive fantasy worlds. This also speaks to that. So you can read this. And if the romance weren't there, it would still be a really awesome adventure fantasy story.
- [15:13]
B
Okay, so take us into the world. What are we going to see as we enter into Daughter of the Void? First time reader coming to it. Your love letter, I guess, would be the one way to word it to a reader. What would you like to tell them? What would you like to say?
- [15:26]
A
So, so basically you're following us. A self, self growth journey of the protagonist. She's a young woman named Waylon. And, and she has this newly discovered power that creates holes in the fabric of magic, which is a part of this unique magic system based loosely on our own physics. So within that, she makes a bunch of mistakes. Okay. I wanted Raelyn to be very relatable. And I think that as much as we all love a really like, overpowered character in a story who does all the right things, makes no mistakes, I wanted readers to grow with her and to see how sometimes, even if you make mistakes, sometimes you ultimately end up where you need to be in life. And so she's flawed, but she ends up on this really epic adventure with fairly cranky mage counterpart, which, you know, that's, that's the, the parallel. She could create holes in the fabric of magic and he's a mage, so automatically they're, they're not exactly compatible. So, so that sets the stage for what people call an enemies to lovers trope where they, they don't particularly like each other at the start, but you, you see them grow and their relationship together as the book goes on.
- [16:47]
B
Okay, that feels like a little bit of Princess Bride.
- [16:50]
A
A little bit, yeah. Yeah, a little bit, yeah.
- [16:52]
B
Of course.
- [16:52]
A
Another favorite movie, right? If you combine Lord of the Rings and the Princess Bride and all of those, like, man, you know, the 80s had some of the best fantasy. Oh my gosh. Yeah. There's so many. And anybody listening, if you haven't spent time looking at 80s fantasy movies. You are missing out.
- [17:11]
B
Come on. Come on. Yeah, well, see, now I can, I can feel a little bit of that influence just in the story that you're talking about now. That's great. So when you talk about Raelyn, like you talk about her as a character, what kind of things do you admire about her? As you kind of see the story develop and as you build this character, what kind of things do you kind of sit back and go, oh, I like this about this person.
- [17:38]
A
Two main things for her is she's driven by a desire to do the right thing. So even when she's making perhaps not the best choices, they're always motivated by kindness and the desire to help. So that carries her through and that really actually becomes her strength as the story carries on. Because while it may initially have seemed like a weakness in the beginning, that commitment to kindness towards the end of the book really pays off. And she's also pretty critical of herself. And I, I made her that way because I think it's a narrative that a lot of people relate to, especially a lot of young women nowadays. You know, the negative self talk, the self doubt. And I wanted them to see that in a character that ultimately really becomes a force to be reckoned with by the end of the series.
- [18:41]
B
So as we're reading through as a first time reader of Daughter of the Void, is there a character that we should be aware of that we're like, oh, when you get to this character in the story, pay attention. Is there something without any spoilers? No spoilers.
- [18:56]
A
Yes, sure. So my antagonist, the villain in book one, is a woman by the name of Seurat. And I designed her specifically to be what's called a sympathetic villain. Which it basically means that she does some pretty awful things, but you get where she's coming from. Like, there's a small part of you that's rooting for her and you're like, man, she's, she's not good. But I kind of get it. So I want, I really want readers to see the parallel between Seurat and Raelyn and how they both have the same things in their world, but how they react to them is very different. And that's what drives their character development. So you kind of see where Raelyn's innate kindness drives her character development, whereas Seurat's hatred drives hers.
- [19:52]
B
So it's interesting, right as you're writing the book, did you get to points where your characters seem like they were jumping up off the page, giving you direction on where they want to go next in the story.
- [20:04]
A
Oh, yeah, yeah. There's this funny phenomenon. I don't know what it is. It happens in a split second, like, you don't even know it's happening. But you can have the most detailed outline and, you know, word for word, like, number count on how long the chapters and everything. And then you're writing, and suddenly, like they do, the character does something different. You type it out, and it's different. And I don't know what that is, but definitely happens. And then you look at it and you're like, yeah, this is what's supposed to happen right now. And I would say 99 of the time when that happens, I'm like, this is a better idea than whatever I had originally plotted out.
- [20:43]
B
So it's got to be like a goosebump moment or something. In that moment where it's just happening and you're like. You're, like, watching it from a distance.
- [20:52]
A
But it's a book.
- [20:53]
B
You're writing it.
- [20:55]
A
It's honestly eerie. It is almost like we talk about we're breathing life into characters. It is almost like you are. They take on this Persona, and in, it's me. Perhaps your subconscious knows better than you do in the moment how they should react. So I don't know. But it's eerie enough that when it happens, you take a second and you just kind of stare at it, and you're like, oh, all right. I guess that's where we're going with it.
- [21:25]
B
Okay, I'm following. I'm following. Yeah, I think that. And that must be fun then, because then you're like, for a reader, it's going to be fun for them. If it's fun for you to write, it's going to be fun for somebody to read later. Right?
- [21:38]
A
Right. Definitely.
- [21:40]
B
All right. With Raelyn, like, is there something about her character or her as a person in your story that you don't know fully? Like, even the people closest to us, there's some things we don't really know about them, and we love to ask them a question, and kind of we'll go a little deeper, even with the people closest to us. This character, is there anything about her and her character, her backstory, something that you don't really have the answer to, even though you created this character?
- [22:09]
A
Oh, yeah. I actually don't know. So a fun. The reason this is called the Chains of Fate trilogy is because the overarching theme that Raylan is facing is fate and destiny, which are these close, but not the Same concepts, right? Where fate is kind of set in stone and destiny's got a little bit more loose wiggle room in there. But they're both kind of like pretty determined you're going down this road. So it. I have book three plotted out, except I haven't decided. And I don't know, maybe Raelyn hasn't decided exactly how. What choice she's going to make at the end. I can't give away too much more than that or else, you know, But. But yeah, I actually. That is still up in the air. I haven't decided yet. I'll know when I type the words out, I guess.
- [23:03]
B
It's interesting. I've had people, I've asked that question of some of my other guests, and they're like, you know what? I don't know anything about their childhood. Like, I don't know anything about how they got to where I started the story and where it picked up from there. And then they're like, you know what? That's an idea. Like, yeah, sure, I should probably go back and dig a little bit deeper into their past and some of the people who shaped them as a person before they got to me and they're like, oh, maybe like a prequel. I gotta do something different. Right? And yeah, think about that side of the story that I haven't really developed.
- [23:36]
A
But yeah, I will say that, Raelyn, my main characters are very fleshed out. I have notebooks and it's just basically a life story on them. But some of the side characters, I could. I could have a very similar answer that I don't actually know what this person's childhood was like or what motivates them or why they are the way they are.
- [23:57]
B
So, yeah, okay, what about the pacing of the book for the reader? What can we expect?
- [24:05]
A
So when I wrote it, I thought I was concerned that it was too, too action packed. I was. I was genuinely worried about that. I'm like, boy, there's stuff happening like, boom, boom, boom, boom. But the feedback that I've gotten from readers is if they either think it's really balanced with the. The lulls and the action moments, or some say that there's some complain that there's too many lulls. So I think it's probably a nice mix. You're gonna get a lot of action, but you're also learning about the world. You get a lot of world creation, you get a lot of character development. So I did try to consciously balance that with action. So you aren't. Just doesn't feel like A history lesson. So yeah, I think the pacing's good, but that will be up to the reader. I suppose everybody is drawn to something a little bit different.
- [25:04]
B
Okay, all right. What are you most proud of? When you hold the copy of the book. You talked about your first book, and there's still some sentimental attachment to that first book that went out, the young adult book, but for this one and what you're working on, what, what makes you proud when you grab a copy of that or you see it on the desk or on a website or whatever, and you're like, I just can have a moment just to celebrate what, what makes you happy.
- [25:26]
A
I am a really pleased with the pros in this book. I have a 9 to 5 job where I do technical writing and I was, I always have a concern that the simplicity of technical writing sometimes bleeds into my creative writing. But in this book, and honestly in book two also, I feel, I continued it. I feel like I managed to get a really eloquent prose that wasn't over wordy. So, you know, it immerses the reader quickly, but you don't have to spend three paragraphs hearing about the colors of someone's hat. You know what I mean? So yeah, it should draw you in really quickly with as few words as possible, if that makes sense.
- [26:18]
B
Right, yeah. There's enough detail to serve the story but not become a textbook, basically.
- [26:25]
A
Right, right. And a lot of that is also down to word usage. I think words are such an incredible tool that we have at our disposal as authors, especially in creative writing. You have liberties, you have descriptive liberties. And I think it's really fun to find the perfect word because you could take a whole sentence to convey the atmosphere in the room, or there might be one word that puts the reader in it immediately. And I, there's something about finding that that I, that I really enjoy. And so that is a point of pride for me and in these books is that I think I accomplished that really well.
- [27:09]
B
So when you look back at your first book and today's when what you're working on today, you're seeing a growth, a change has happened.
- [27:16]
A
Right.
- [27:17]
B
So as you continue to write, are you continuing to see growth for yourself as a writer? Yeah.
- [27:21]
A
Yes, absolutely. You, you become familiar with your own challenges of like word overuse and you know, especially if you work with an editor. So the first book, you know, went to the publisher. The publisher has an in house editor. And when you work in tandem with someone who is a professional in the industry, it, it's very eye Opening, you know, little things like using the word seeped versus pooled, you know, the imagery that they create. Things. Things like that are important and again, can be really important for the immersion of a reader. So it can. It can be difficult as a starting author to set your ego aside and work with other industry professionals and take their feedback in a supportive way and not a critical way. And that is another skill, you know, that I think all of us have to hone a little bit, is that we love our work, we get attached to it, but sometimes it can be better, and we should be open to exploring the ways that we can hone our craft a little bit.
- [28:34]
B
Yeah. And at the same time, keeping your own voice, not sounding like your editor. You wrote the book, your editor didn't write the book. Right. So there's like a push and a pole there, I guess, going at the same time.
- [28:45]
A
Right, right. You have to. You have to find an editor that you connect with. Well, honestly, the relationship, I think it's very similar to, is that of your primary care doctor. You want an editor that you trust and feel respected by. You know, you. You want to feel like you're heard when you bring something up and that there's open lines of communication. So you. If you're working with a professional editor and you don't have that, it might be time to try a different one now. I mean, we're, you know, not everybody's created equal. Every. Every job area has different types of professionals in it. So find someone that really resonates with you.
- [29:28]
B
Okay. One thing I'd love to kind of asks. I asked some of my guests when they're on just their opinion. As you're watching things happening in 2025 and authorship and writing, I'm seeing the. The influence of AI on everything that we're doing as authors and writers and creative people. Any thoughts or concerns from your perspective as an author? As people seem to be embracing more AI and maybe to help them write or even write their book for them. Are you. Do you have any kind of concerns about that as you look at that from an author perspective?
- [30:01]
A
Yes. So from a medical writer perspective, my nonfiction writing, that job fields already almost wiped out by AI really? Now that sounds terrifying. Before anybody panics, it is very different from creative writing because AI is designed to reiterate facts. And if. If you were a medical writer, technical writer, that's what you do, you know, so AI Is doing that job, and it's doing it much faster than we can do it. So that's expected. Now the creative world is a little bit safer. I think we're a ways away from having A.I. you know, having publishers with A.I. programs that just generate bestsellers without, you know, an author's involvement. I personally don't believe in AI in the creative space. And that comes from a place in me where writing is something I love and it's a passion. I don't look at my creative writing as this is something I have to do to make a living. Right. It's my passion. It's not. It's not the thing I have to do. But there are certainly people out there who see it as an opportunity to write and write very quickly with the help of AI and maybe they don't really have that passion for the craft itself and they're just looking to pump books out. That is already an issue. I mean, several authors in the last six months have already. They've left ChatGPT prompts in their final copies and. And been called out by the community. Yes. So the unfortunate reality, though, is that as authors, a lot of us care. Right. It's our creative space. A lot of these AI models are trained using our existing works. They're using our language models. And that's how it started on the non fiction side, too. But do the readers care? That is a question that I can't answer. I don't really know. I haven't really gotten a sense that the average reader cares if the book they pick up and really love was completely written by the author or partially with the help of AI. I don't know if it. And I think until the readers really care, it's going to continue to be a problem for authors.
- [32:37]
B
Yeah. So, like this show. My author podcast here started before AI was a real big thing and topic of conversation. I'm sure it was there in varying degrees, but not like it is right now. And what I love about podcasting and having people like you on the show is we get to hear from the person who created the characters, wrote the story, bled on the page as you wrote this. Like, this is your passion. This is who you are. And I'm not going to be able to interview an AI bot about their word, their book. They wrote in a millisecond.
- [33:12]
A
Right.
- [33:12]
B
You know, they're never going to be an entertaining guest. So that's why I love. This is the human connection behind the story. And when we see a book like yours on the shelf, we're like, oh, I know this person. I've heard their voice. I've heard this story. And this is A book for me, and I think that's the competitive edge, is that we can still connect with authors that we love through mediums like podcasting and all the other things. But the idea that we can actually have time with the author in this setting, I think is one of the things that helps to counterbalance some of the dependence on AI. And the other thing I'm thinking too is I know podcasters who will have a guest on their show, they'll take your PDF of your book, throw it into an AI model and have it create their questions for them. Yeah, they don't read the book and they decide. And the moment you surrender someone else's work without their permission to like, again, we're actively part of the problem, I think in that situation. So I push back on podcasters and people like me who have access to your material. Our, I think is my due diligence to not do that, be a part of that process. A, because you didn't give me permission. B, what happens if I send your book up into the cloud and all that? I, I think there's a, there's a, there's. There's a part of me that doesn't feel right with that as of the podcast.
- [34:38]
A
Absolutely. And that's greatly appreciated. I'm sure every author everywhere is clapping for you for saying that right now, but yeah, you have to. The pirating of, of existing works is a real concern and a real travesty to all the hard work it takes to put into a novel. I mean, excuse me, some of us takes years to get a final product out and to have AI just swoop in and pull our language and our prose and, you know, even some of our ideas out of it is really feel that, you know, have AI do my laundry and do the things, you know what I mean? Like put it to work somewhere in my life, life where I, you know, could really use it. Like not, don't take my creativity away from me. That's, you know, I need that time.
- [35:31]
B
The time, the effort, the money that you put into writing and everything, all those expenses and. Yeah, and like I said, I've had people on the show 10, 14, 15 years it took to write their first.
- [35:42]
A
Yeah, absolutely.
- [35:43]
B
How do you. One upload and that's all, you know, gone. And I'm like, I don't, I don't know if I like that.
- [35:50]
A
So. Yeah. And it unfortunately is a risk that we run as authors, especially in the self published and indie space, because part of the process is after you have your, your manuscript, you Send it out to, you know, advanced reader copies and. And things like that. And you hope that the people you send it to are actually reading it and generating real reviews and not putting it into an AI that generates a review so they can just, you know, have a fast turnover. It does happen. I think we all know that that does happen. And it's. Yeah, it's a real shame.
- [36:28]
B
Interesting. So for you out there, as you get copies of these, be careful what you do with these things and protect them and treat them with love and care.
- [36:36]
A
Yes, please.
- [36:37]
B
You know, the authors behind them are really. That's. That's their lifeblood. That's why they're doing what they do. And it'd be a shame to lose great people who write great stories, so.
- [36:46]
A
Right. That's right.
- [36:47]
B
Yeah. Okay, so let's turn it back around. My podcast is called Living the Next Chapter, so I like to use that as leverage for a question for I know my audience is always anticipating for you as an author. Are we. Are we expecting more and when and kind of give us an update on what's coming up as you live your next chapter. What can we expect down the road from you?
- [37:09]
A
No, definitely. I'm committed to getting the Chains of Fate trilogy done hopefully by the end of 2027. Book two is already done, and at the publishers, we don't have a publication date quite yet for that. And I'm currently working on book three, so I'm way ahead of schedule. It might even be before my goal deadline. But I. I do plan to keep writing after that. I have several ideas just kind of waiting in the wings, but I think my next couple projects will probably be standalone books. And. And the. The reason for that is it's wonderful to have a story that can span multiple novels, but the problem with that is a, readers want to know what happens. Right. You know, I, as a. An author and a reader, don't want to wait three years for the conclusion of a book. Sometimes it's just really nice to have it all in that one volume, you know, beginning to end, and that's it. And you can. Can love this book and reread it, and it is what it is. So I think I would like to do a couple standalone novels after this trilogy is done.
- [38:24]
B
Interesting. Yeah, that's a good point. It's kind of like somebody to accompany you on a flight or whatever, or when you have time to read that book, cover to cover. It's nice to have a conclusion to the story.
- [38:35]
A
Yeah.
- [38:35]
B
But I do like. I do like a series as well. I'm kind of torn between the two because a series gives us the idea that you can expand on the characters and the story and go deeper and you can kind of chase, chase the story a little bit more over a longer spread of books. So I can see an advantage for both.
- [38:52]
A
It is, it is hard though, because as a reader I have encountered series that have never been finished and it's just such a heartbreak. In fact, there was one series that I was just, I watched this author's website for years and years waiting for her to get the, the second book out and bless her heart, she passed before it happened. And then, you know, the series was never finished. And then sometimes authors just abandon projects. So as a reader, you're putting a little bit of trust in, in the author when you pick up that first copy that there will be a second or a third or however many to carry you through. But so yeah, I have felt the let down and, and I will not do that. I will not do that to my readers.
- [39:43]
B
So promises, promises, promises.
- [39:45]
A
That's right.
- [39:46]
B
Okay, let's send everybody to your website so they can connect with you. Follow the journey, get updates and timelines on the next, next thing. That's exciting. Where would you like to send the listeners today?
- [39:57]
A
You can find me@hrcol.com if you're interested in some of my new and old short stories. I do have a substack which is hrcole.substack.com. it's free and I'm also fairly active on Instagram. My Instagram handle is at Hidden Gems Books and that's probably where you find most of my activities on Instagram. But I do try to keep the website up to date and substack. I do update bi weekly.
- [40:31]
B
Okay, and let's close off with one more message to the readers. What would you love people to know about this book? Well, what have we missed? What have we not touched on? Anything for the readers, let's encourage them as they come to your book for the first time.
- [40:45]
A
If you're, if you are a reader who is missing a really immersive, epic, high fantasy, Lord of the Rings level adventure that has the romance you're also craving, then this is the series for you.
- [41:02]
B
Done just like that. That's always exactly what we need. I love it. That's great. Hope, thank you so much for being on the show. I really appreciate you taking time to do this and I would love to have you back in the future. So as you continue to write, keep us in mind. I Know the audience would love to get a chance to reconnect with you and hear more about your journey and celebrate the next next thing. So we'll just keep the door open and hopefully we can have you back again in the future.
- [41:26]
A
Oh, that sounds great. Thank you so much for having me today.
- [41:29]
B
Excellent, everyone. All information for Hope in the show notes as always, go grab a copy of the book and follow for more. Not if, but when you buy Hope's book, leave a great review and tell people why you love this book so much. It's going to help other people fall in love with it. It's also encouraging for our authors to hear your thoughts about these books and what they're sharing. And as you listen to this, I know you know somebody else that's going to love this book. So tell them about the podcast, tell them about Hope, share her website and her socials, and let's encourage more people to come and find Hope and find more great stories. Again, thank you so much for being part of the show.
- [42:06]
A
Yes, thank you so much.
- [42:11]
B
Hey, thank you so much again for pressing play. As you've heard, great guests on the show and one thing you didn't hear in this conversation is what? What did you not hear? Think about it for a second. That's right. Not a single solitary commercial for a mattress or a supplement or a whatever you call it. No. Why? Because we don't want to break up the conversation with commercials. So the fact that you're still here means that you are a fan of the show, I'm assuming. So if you want to help to keep the podcast going and to make me feel really happy, all I really care about is coffee. Okay. I just got to be honest. I love coffee. I'm drinking one right now. Starting to get cold.
- [42:55]
A
I need.
- [42:55]
B
I need to warm it up. Helping us with our buy me a coffee link over at living the next chapter.com and also in the show notes helps kind of keep the lights on around here. Remember, I'm doing this for free. I. I'm paying for everything. So I would love to have a little coffee donation. You know, even five bucks kind of fills up my cup. And I would love to enjoy a coffee from you. So if you're interested. Again, thank you for listening, but you can use our buy me a coffee link and fill up the cup. Thanks for being here.