Clink Street Blogival - Guest Post: Ascension by Jeannie van Rompaey

This month Clink Street has been hosting a Blogival.

You can find the other hosts and posts using the calendar below:

Today I am hosting a guest post from Jeannie van Rompaey, author of Ascension.

About Ascension:

 Blurb from Goodreads:

Meet the MUTANT HUMANOIDS. They may look a little different from us, but inside they're much the same as you and me. Left on a diseased Earth, they live in windowless compounds, safe from the contaminated wilderness outside. Safe, yes, but their lives are restricted.

When the mutant humanoids discover that some complete human beings, COMPLETES, have also survived and are living greatly improved lives on satellites, they determine to rectify this imbalance and claim their share of Earth's heritage. Three-headed RA rules the humanoids with ruthless precision, but others are involved in a power struggle to depose him. Who will succeed in being the next CEO of Planet Earth?

Sixteen -year-old MERCURY plans to start a new life on Oasis. Will it prove the Utopia he expects it to be?

ASCENSION, the first novel in Jeannie van Rompaey's Oasis Series, explores with humour and compassion the way humans respond to change. The future worlds of Earth and Oasis mirror our contemporary society. The division between the haves and have-nots widens and the lust for power leads to corruption. But there are idealists determined to build a fairer, more egalitarian society. 

About the Author 

Brought up in Northamptonshire, Jeannie has always been passionate about reading and writing. She has an MA in English Literature from Leicester University and likes reading books that make her think about how people tick and the state of the world. Her writing includes short stories, novels, poems and plays. A tutor of creative writing and as Jeannie Russell an adjudicator of drama festivals, Jeannie enjoys a varied life. She lives with historian husband, Tony, in Gran Canaria which now feels like home. 

10 things I wish I’d known before becoming a writer by Jeannie van Rompaey 
 

1) That I would have to be a business person and help to market my books as well as writing them. 

2) That there would be only a few main line publishers left and fewer opportunities to publish with them. That even if successfully published by them you would be still be expected to help market the books. 

3) That self-publishing would be considered an acceptable option, often preferable to traditional publishing because of the autonomy it provides.

 4) That self-publishing through a company such as Clink Street Publishing is a respected route to self-publishing, very different from discredited Vanity Publishing. 

5) The importance of deciding on a potential readership before starting a novel, focusing on targeting a particular demographic group. The realisation that literary writing is not necessarily incompatible with genre writing.  

6) The importance of building a fan base of readers interested in my work and my next book. 

7) The importance of raising an online presence through keeping my website up to date, writing blogs and engaging with other bloggers and writers.  

8) The importance of time management – allotting time for affiliated writing pursuits  as well as novel writing: the importance of becoming accustomed to multi-tasking. 

9) The importance of social media in the raising of my profile as a writer, such as Twitter, Facebook etc.  

10) The importance of engaging with other writers for support and advice, for example through community groups on Linked In, Goodreads, Amazon and organisations such as the Alliance of Independent Authors.