We're thrilled today to have author Allison Fagundes stop by. Allison has created an entirely new world with her debut novel, Goddess Save the King.
With over a decade of experience of bouncing between the entertainment and fashion industries of Los Angeles, Allison Fagundes is a creative professional with her sights set on entrepreneurship. Once she grew the brass-boobs to leave her corporate job for swimwear design (for busty women), she managed to shuffle away from a car accident that changed the order of her creative expression. After being laid-up on ice packs for months and seeing doctors three days every week, Allison awakened one morning after an incredible dream. She didn’t stop dream-journaling the adventure for four weeks. At the end of that time, she had her first draft of Goddess Save the King. Six-plus months later, she finished the final draft of the project and self-published it through Amazon.
Before the accident, Allison would spend a few days a week building her sand legs to become a better beach volleyball player. Now, she’s gentler on herself as she continues to take the time to restore the strength she once had. This opportunity has allowed her to focus on writing like never before as well as become more invested in the movie-going experience. As a result, she’s on Team Iron Man, ride or die, and is baffled that Greg Rucka’s Batman No Man’s Land still hasn’t been made into a Hollywood blockbuster. Thanks for stopping by today Allison.
You're very welcome Chris.
Your book, Goddess Save the King, is a post-apocalyptic/fantasy, which are very popular at the moment. Has this always been what you wanted to write, or did the success of other books in the genre push you in that direction?
Thinking back to the many unfinished books that have accumulated on a jump drive which ended up in a storage box until recently, I can honestly say that the majority of the stories on it are fantasy, or scifi-fantasy. It was a genre I never expected to write in, but I ran with it back then. So it’s not surprising to me that the idea behind Goddess Save the King was also rooted in it. Popularity of the genre wasn’t on my radar.
How long has this book been germinating in you?
The idea for this book was an immediate unfolding. I was in a car accident the month before this book idea revealed itself to me. I was at home nursing injuries, and was able to be consistent with my dream journaling each morning. I had nothing but time to rest and recuperate. The week before my birthday, I awoke and didn’t reach for my journal that time. Instead, I opened my laptop and began typing the dream. The story was coming so fast, my handwriting wouldn’t have been able to keep up. I kept typing for four weeks.
At the end of that time, I had the first draft of Goddess Save the King. I was completely blown away that I was staring at the first draft of my first novel.
Wow, amazing story of inspiration running rampant. After you committed to writing it, about how long did it take to get it totally completed?
The book took a solid seven months to write. I felt like a machine shelling-out anywhere from 2,000 to 11,000 words per day.
2,000 to 11,000 words per day! As a fellow writer, I can honestly say that many of us wish we could be as prolific and productive as you were.
And it seems that creating a whole new world with many different characters can be daunting. How did you manage to keep it all straight?
With a giant sketch pad. lol! I wasn’t able to draft a neat outline that would show me the proper progression of the story. My brain couldn’t compute that. I needed to see my version of organized chaos on a few giant pieces of paper. Aside from that, developing a new world and the details about that world was exciting. I already had so much content
from the original dream, I simply spent a lot of time shaping it and adding details. It was fun!
Any advise for other authors wishing to write in this genre?
Set your imagination free. Let it run, and do your best to keep up with it. Give it zero restrictions. You’ll be surprised with what you come up with.
And if you could give yourself one piece of advice before you finished this book project, what would it be?
As exciting as it was to write this book, I learned how important it was to step away from the project in between drafts. Not for one hour, or one day, but for a week or so. It was easy to forget that there was a world outside of my home to live in when I was creating a new, exciting one in my book. It would have been best to slow down and allow more space and time between the last two drafts. I would have had fresher eyes on the manuscript and it would have made the editing process shorter and smoother.
Were you intimidated at all about going the self-publishing route?
Not at all. My creative expression before writing was fashion. In fashion, you need a lot of outside help in order to produce the collection that you’ve designed. Self-publishing gave me an avenue to rely on fewer people for the completion of the project, as well as full creative control. That’s a rarity I couldn’t pass up.
How did Christopher J. Lynch’s self-publishing seminar help you?
The seminar helped me to be practical about this book project. It also showed me where my strengths would come into play. Because of that, I was able to see the potential in what I produced versus viewing publishing as a difficult, unattainable dream.
How do you feel now that you have a book published?
I feel excited and relieved. I’ve been ready and eager to share this story since day one. I’m glad I’m able to do that now.
What’s next for you?
Book 2 of the series is coming along at a slower place due to being back into the working world. I expect to release it at the end of this year. I’ve also begun sifting through that old jump drive and have found some gems to revisit. There are a few stories I feel compelled to finish, and maybe explore short story writing. Also, I’m getting ready for my first book-signing event in my hometown, Los Banos, CA., on Friday, March 10th, at Phoenix Books.
Well congratulations again for your incredible accomplishment and we hope to have you back here real soon.
Thank you, it was great to be here Chris.
Allison's debut novel: Goddess Save the King is available at Amazon.com by clicking on the photo above or here.
For information on her book signing click here.
You can also connect or follow Allison at:
Website: http://arfagundes.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arfagundesauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/missallifagu
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tallglassofallie/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/allifagu/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonfagundes
With over a decade of experience of bouncing between the entertainment and fashion industries of Los Angeles, Allison Fagundes is a creative professional with her sights set on entrepreneurship. Once she grew the brass-boobs to leave her corporate job for swimwear design (for busty women), she managed to shuffle away from a car accident that changed the order of her creative expression. After being laid-up on ice packs for months and seeing doctors three days every week, Allison awakened one morning after an incredible dream. She didn’t stop dream-journaling the adventure for four weeks. At the end of that time, she had her first draft of Goddess Save the King. Six-plus months later, she finished the final draft of the project and self-published it through Amazon.
Before the accident, Allison would spend a few days a week building her sand legs to become a better beach volleyball player. Now, she’s gentler on herself as she continues to take the time to restore the strength she once had. This opportunity has allowed her to focus on writing like never before as well as become more invested in the movie-going experience. As a result, she’s on Team Iron Man, ride or die, and is baffled that Greg Rucka’s Batman No Man’s Land still hasn’t been made into a Hollywood blockbuster. Thanks for stopping by today Allison.
You're very welcome Chris.
Your book, Goddess Save the King, is a post-apocalyptic/fantasy, which are very popular at the moment. Has this always been what you wanted to write, or did the success of other books in the genre push you in that direction?
Thinking back to the many unfinished books that have accumulated on a jump drive which ended up in a storage box until recently, I can honestly say that the majority of the stories on it are fantasy, or scifi-fantasy. It was a genre I never expected to write in, but I ran with it back then. So it’s not surprising to me that the idea behind Goddess Save the King was also rooted in it. Popularity of the genre wasn’t on my radar.
How long has this book been germinating in you?
The idea for this book was an immediate unfolding. I was in a car accident the month before this book idea revealed itself to me. I was at home nursing injuries, and was able to be consistent with my dream journaling each morning. I had nothing but time to rest and recuperate. The week before my birthday, I awoke and didn’t reach for my journal that time. Instead, I opened my laptop and began typing the dream. The story was coming so fast, my handwriting wouldn’t have been able to keep up. I kept typing for four weeks.
At the end of that time, I had the first draft of Goddess Save the King. I was completely blown away that I was staring at the first draft of my first novel.
Wow, amazing story of inspiration running rampant. After you committed to writing it, about how long did it take to get it totally completed?
The book took a solid seven months to write. I felt like a machine shelling-out anywhere from 2,000 to 11,000 words per day.
2,000 to 11,000 words per day! As a fellow writer, I can honestly say that many of us wish we could be as prolific and productive as you were.
And it seems that creating a whole new world with many different characters can be daunting. How did you manage to keep it all straight?
With a giant sketch pad. lol! I wasn’t able to draft a neat outline that would show me the proper progression of the story. My brain couldn’t compute that. I needed to see my version of organized chaos on a few giant pieces of paper. Aside from that, developing a new world and the details about that world was exciting. I already had so much content
from the original dream, I simply spent a lot of time shaping it and adding details. It was fun!
Any advise for other authors wishing to write in this genre?
Set your imagination free. Let it run, and do your best to keep up with it. Give it zero restrictions. You’ll be surprised with what you come up with.
And if you could give yourself one piece of advice before you finished this book project, what would it be?
As exciting as it was to write this book, I learned how important it was to step away from the project in between drafts. Not for one hour, or one day, but for a week or so. It was easy to forget that there was a world outside of my home to live in when I was creating a new, exciting one in my book. It would have been best to slow down and allow more space and time between the last two drafts. I would have had fresher eyes on the manuscript and it would have made the editing process shorter and smoother.
Were you intimidated at all about going the self-publishing route?
Not at all. My creative expression before writing was fashion. In fashion, you need a lot of outside help in order to produce the collection that you’ve designed. Self-publishing gave me an avenue to rely on fewer people for the completion of the project, as well as full creative control. That’s a rarity I couldn’t pass up.
How did Christopher J. Lynch’s self-publishing seminar help you?
The seminar helped me to be practical about this book project. It also showed me where my strengths would come into play. Because of that, I was able to see the potential in what I produced versus viewing publishing as a difficult, unattainable dream.
How do you feel now that you have a book published?
I feel excited and relieved. I’ve been ready and eager to share this story since day one. I’m glad I’m able to do that now.
What’s next for you?
Book 2 of the series is coming along at a slower place due to being back into the working world. I expect to release it at the end of this year. I’ve also begun sifting through that old jump drive and have found some gems to revisit. There are a few stories I feel compelled to finish, and maybe explore short story writing. Also, I’m getting ready for my first book-signing event in my hometown, Los Banos, CA., on Friday, March 10th, at Phoenix Books.
Well congratulations again for your incredible accomplishment and we hope to have you back here real soon.
Thank you, it was great to be here Chris.
Allison's debut novel: Goddess Save the King is available at Amazon.com by clicking on the photo above or here.
For information on her book signing click here.
You can also connect or follow Allison at:
Website: http://arfagundes.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arfagundesauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/missallifagu
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tallglassofallie/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/allifagu/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonfagundes