Back to Current Issue
Back to Archives Index
|
FANTASY LIFE OF CAROL CASEY By Rosemary Streatfeild
|
 |
|
Please note: This article was written before Carol Casey left the Libraries to accept a job with Blackwell's Book Services in Portland.
Walk into Carol Casey's office for the first time, and you may wonder what our Head of Cataloging does in her spare time. Life-size posters of Xena, Warrior Princess adorn her walls, and dragons, goblins and other mythical creatures her desk.
In her other life, Casey (her name preference) writes fantasy novels. She has been doing so since she was a teenager. Her interest in fantasy literature began when the Lord of the Rings was republished in 1967. Her books include Tales of Emoria, a series of four stories so far, written under her pseudonym Mindancer. Published to date are Past Echoes (2000) and Future Dreams (2001). Present Paths has just been published (June 4, 2002). Fall Time is forthcoming. She has also published Game of Truth, under her real name, C. A. Casey. How does she do it? She was hired into her current position in the middle of writing these! She began Tales of Emoria: Past Echoes in 1999 without a contract to publish it. She would post chapters regularly to her Web page, and gained quite a following. She credits the book's online presence for the contract that came in the middle of writing it. "Luck," she calls it. Future Dreams, book 2, is the prestory of Past Echoes, and Present Paths is the sequel to Future Dreams. The story line for Fall Time is a sequel to Past Echoes. You can read all about her books at http://www.sff.net/people/cacasey, and even purchase yourself a copy.
Game of Truth, published in 2001, is Part 1 of a second series, The Athronian Chronicles, which she envisions to consist of four parts. These Chronicles stories are mapped out, whereas the Tales were written kamikazi style, "off the cuff." Where do her characters' names come from? She often uses names of her fans. If someone writes her with some good feedback at a time when she is inventing a new character, she uses that person's name. Other times she makes the names up.
Not only is she an author, but Casey is a composer. Her academic background is in music composition. She wrote the musical scores for the Tales, which you can listen to on the Website (above). Not only that, she designed the covers of the first two books. The third one was "professionally produced," and she points out that you can tell the difference! She is a Music Editor with Strange Horizons, an ezine devoted to Speculative fiction, for which she also writes articles. Two of Casey's most recent articles relating to her "fantasy" activities are: "Don't Stick Those Furry Feet Where They Don't Belong: Fantasy Elements and the Beginning of a Story," Sword's Edge vol. 1, no. 5 (June 2002): http://www.atfantasy.com/articles/FurryFeet.php. "Capturing the Musical Essence: A Look at the Scores for Harry Potter and The Fellowship of the Ring," Strange Horizons (25 February 2002): http://www.strangehorizons.com/2002/20020225/filmscores.shtml.
Casey publishes with Silver Dragon Books, a small press, and one of 6 imprints with Renaissance Alliance Publishing. Past Echoes was one of the first books to be published by Silver Dragon Books, so it is not only a small press, but a young one. Renaissance Alliance Publishing already has 50-60 authors writing for it, and 60-70 books in print (since 1999). After a book is accepted for publishing, the editors gets to work, using the "track changes" tool in the word processing software. The author accepts or not the suggested edits via the same system. Once the book is through being edited, it is sent electronically to the printer. After three-weeks it is available for purchase. Books are printed on demand. Silver Dragon is a truly international operation, with the graphics designer living in Australia, many of its staff in Europe, and authors from all around. As an editor for the press, Casey attends conventions and is always on the look-out for new authors. She has recently signed John Dalmas, a well-known science fiction author of The Regiment, The Lizard War, The Lion of Farside, The Three-Cornered War, and Soldiers and many more, to the press. Silver Dragon Books now turns down 99% of authors and their works. While not paying advances, they do offer good royalties. With the big presses, you may get a small advance ($5,000 is the norm), but they are harder to get into and want to work with agents. It's not easy to make a living as an author. Most have primary jobs that support them. Only 1% of all authors can live off the money they earn as writers. For a print-on-demand book to be considered a "good sell" it must sell 500 - 1,000 copies, while a really good sell would amount to 10,000 copies.
What's in the future for Casey? She is working on writing short stories, which she wants to develop. She points out that it requires a totally different talent than for writing full-length novels. Not many authors are a natural for both types. Her advice to aspiring authors? To be successful, you need to get your name seen, get publicity, and participate in conventions and panels.
Rosemary Streatfeild |
|