Next up on our Indie Author Spotlight: Contemporary Fantasy (with sci-fi elements) Author Manna Clarke. Manna is a fellow scientist and feels that it is “…fascinating to see how they blend the nerd with the creative!!” I agree 100%. There are many scientist-authors that have come before us: Isaac Asimov, Kate Brandes, Rachel Carson, Arthur C. Clarke, Jane Goodall, and Carl Sagan to name a few, and I think we are in excellent company. Like all of us indies, Manna finds the change of being an indie both rewarding and exhausting.
Author’s Name:
Manna Clarke
Website:
Book Title:
…And In The Beginning
Book Genre:
Contemporary fantasy with sci-fi elements
What’s the audience for this book?
Adult
Where can I get this book?
Still in Pre-order
What inspired you to write your latest book?
I am a scientist and a lover of fantasy. Simply put, I got tired of my favourite types of characters being poorly represented in TV and film so I decided to have a go for myself. I have a cast of characters that have been living rent free in my head demanding a combined story – and this trilogy has become theirs.
How do you think your book stands out in its genre?
I don’t often see adventure mixed with fantasy in this way. There are aliens, archangels, ancient cultures and the threat of Armageddon in this book… I just hope it tells the way I hope it does.
Can you share a memorable moment or challenge you faced while writing your book?
There are so many! But to pick a couple… I started writing this book hunched over a side table on a broken chair while my children and I were squeezed into a one bedroom apartment with a friend. Throw in being an essential worker during the height of the pandemic and a couple of serious mental health breaks later, it is finally ready to share with the world.
What do you hope readers take away from your book?
That even when things seem dark, hope exists… just not where you might think to look for it.
Who are your biggest literary influences, and how have they shaped your writing?
Anne McCaffrey – her fantasy and sci-fi blend is amazing.
Matthew Reilly – his adventures are something else. Fast paced, filled with awesome detail and astounding concepts. Sometimes I find myself doubting an action scene or idea… and then I say ‘Matthew Reilly did it’ and off I go.
What is your approach to world-building in your narratives?
I like to go for walks. It sounds cliché, but walking or jogging occupies the body and leaves the mind free, and when it’s free, it can relax and drift from idea to suggestion and back again until something solid forms. When I started this story, there was no conceivable way that any of my characters could exist in the same universe. And now their lives are entwined so deeply they’ll always be part of each other.
How do you balance writing with other responsibilities in your life?
With great difficulty! It’s hard to find a balance with so many demands on my time, which is part of the reason why it’s taken so long to get book one ready. But once I’m in a routine, things move more smoothly for me. I’m a pantser, so the idea of a routine is weird to me, but it DOES help.
What has been your experience with self-publishing, and what advice would you offer to aspiring indie authors?
Navigating it. There is so much advice out there, and a lot of it is written by people that googled it an hour before. It’s confusing to try and sort out what is helpful from what isn’t but if I had to give advice, it would be to take advice with a grain of salt and seek multiple opinions – because solutions aren’t always set in concrete between writers, their methods and their genres.
Can you describe a character from your book that you feel particularly connected to?
They all have a piece of me. But Luma has been with me the longest and gone through the most changes. She has suffered a lot, and hasn’t given in, hasn’t even considered it. I think she’s stronger than me, because there have been times when I have considered it. Luma’s trauma has changed her, but her essence remains and one day she will be herself again.
What are your future writing projects, and how do they build upon your previous work?
I have two sequels for this trilogy, one is written, the other is pencilled in for drafting in April so I can leapfrog my WIPs. After this trilogy, I have a few side stories planned for the same universe, and maybe a couple of stand-alones that are related but with new characters. I might even delve into the lives on ancient Sumer before their cataclysm takes place – there is a lot to unpack there!
What is your book’s blurb?
…And in the Beginning opens billions of light years from Earth on a doomed planet that will reshape history as we know it. Luma, the Sumerian Acolyte is destined to follow in her Ascended brother’s footsteps, but her lazy path to immortality is interrupted when her world is destroyed by an ancient enemy. Luma is lost to the cosmos, but apparently the Universe has a plan.
In the year 2020 on modern-day Earth, the Archangel Raphael finally begins to understand the reason for her lonely Exile. For years she has wandered the Earth with nothing but a vague old prophecy and her estranged brother, Azrael to guide her steps. That will all change the day she stumbles into FBI Special Agent Levi Malach during his hunt for the international assassin, Rian Murphy. Despite her reluctance to get involved with the intricacies of human affairs, Raphael is thrown into a race against time… A race that will determine the fate of two worlds and change human history forever.
I can’t thank Manna enough for sharing her work with me! As soon as her book goes live for the world I will update my post here and let you all know. I’m looking forward to more work from Manna!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR INCLUDING ME ON YOUR SITE!
Seriously, I love this so much!!
you are so very welcome! 🙂