Newly minted author Hannah Lokos has stopped by today. Her first book, Labyrinth of Lies, was released earlier this month
Hi! I’m Hannah.
Who am I?
I’m an author who happens to be a full-time college student
(biology/pre-med major). I’ve been writing short stories and poetry since I was
five. I’ve loved writing for literally as long as I can remember. As soon as I could read, I wanted to
write. I started writing short stories
and simple poetry when I was in kindergarten.
Of course, I wanted to use words that I often couldn’t spell. So, I would wait for my dad to come home from
work and then ask him to help me spell them.
Ever since then, I’ve dreamed of becoming a published author. I wrote my first full-length novel when I was
fourteen, but to this day, it remains under my bed. When I was eighteen, I attempted the feat
again, this time going all the way. I
did all of my own representing and wrote all of my own cover and query letters,
and last spring, I received an offer of publication from Champagne Book Group
for my novel entitled Labyrinth of Lies. It was released on December 2, 2013, and I
couldn’t be more excited!
What is my book
about?
Labyrinth of Lies is historical fiction mixed with a smidgen of romance. Basically, it's the backstory to a Greek myth. Because every story—even a myth—is based on a kernel of truth, my tale proposes a truth at the heart of a tangle of lies.
Here’s
the blurb from the back cover:
"Something
foul is afoot in Ancient Greece. Athens is bruised from a previous war with
Crete. Worse still, King Minos annually demands fourteen Athenian youths to be
fed to the Cretan Minotaur, which is locked inside a maze. Theseus has grown up
amidst this tangle of pain. When his own beloved, Zosemine, is taken to be fed
to the Minotaur, Theseus finds himself at the heart of a web of conflicting
motives, with the sense that even those closest to him cannot be trusted.
Questions abound. Why is his father so ashamed? What is King Minos hiding? Is
the Minotaur even real? And if not, what truly lies at the heart of the
labyrinth? Little does Theseus know that all the various plots, motives, and
secrets all weave around one terrible truth. Theseus must navigate the
labyrinth and see past the masks, to slay the Minotaur."
When I was writing Labyrinth
of Lies, I wanted to write a story that took an old and dusty tale, twisted
it a bit, and gave to it a surprising rebirth.
Hopefully, that is what I have done. Please help me spread the word!
What I would have
done differently:
Most authors will agree that writing a book takes a lot of
effort. It was no different in my case,
yet after all that I’ve been through with this novel, I have learned some
things. One of the major lessons I’ve learned is this: there is very little
that cannot be accomplished by hard work.
You do not need a publicist. You
don’t need an agent. You don’t even need
to be an adult or have an English degree. What you do need is a goal, the
determination to both gather and use the skills needed to get the job done, and
the perseverance to see it through. I
wish I would have learned that a bit sooner.
Also, I would have started outlining earlier! I read a book once that said something to the
effect of: “Well, see, you don’t really need to write an outline for your
book. Just simply sit down at your
computer, start typing, and see what happens.
Wing it!” This is probably the
WORST advice I have ever been given.
Maybe you don’t NEED an outline to write a book, but it is certainly
very, VERY helpful. If you don’t have an
outline, you have to reorient yourself with your story every time you sit down
to write. You have to constantly worry
about where your plot is going next.
But if you already have at least the core points written down, then it
takes much of the stress out of writing.
You can sit down and write a bit as you work your way gently down the
outline. I find it helps me to preclude
numerous bouts of writer’s block. All in all, having an outline to refer back
to can make the difference between spending ten years writing your novel and
ten months.
Where can you find my
book and/or me?
You can buy my book from my
publisher at: http://burstbooks.ca/product.php?id_product=114
You can also buy it for Kindle on
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Labyrinth-Of-Lies-Hannah-Lokos-ebook/dp/B00H1ZC0NW/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
And you can get in touch with me through:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HannahLokos
My website: www.hannahlokos.com
Nice,for this young lady and your intenchen.
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