This week, we (electronically) sat down with one of our favorite indie authors, Genese Davis, to talk about her journey in indie-publishing!
On March 1, 2013, Davis released her very first novel, The Holder’s Dominion, a new-adult gamer-fiction title. Though Davis never thought she would become a gamer—nevermind a gaming enthusiast—she discovered the world of gaming as an adult through Final Fantasy XI, and has since cracked the top 100 in the world for her class in World of Warcraft. Her experiences in gaming laid the groundwork for The Holder’s Dominion, a book meant to encourage excitement around the gaming world.
Genese, please tell us a little bit about yourself.
I grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico where my interest for equestrianism and flying glider planes blossomed. College whisked me away into fashion and finance before my writing career began. It was in Austin Texas where I completed my bachelor’s degree in English—go Longhorns!
Tell us what’s different about your novel, The Holder’s Dominion.
What’s different about Holder’s is that the story takes place on a college campus and therefore falls into a new genre called “new adult.” The foundation of this story revolves around that “shove” we all go through into adulthood. When we leave the nest, we’re forced to grow up quickly. Beyond our high school days are powerful new adult stories that begin and blossom in our late teens and early 20s. The whole publishing industry is recognizing the huge amount of heartfelt stories set beyond high school, thus the “new adult” classification.
The Holder’s Dominion has the potential for readers to understand why people, young and old, want to play video games. The inspiration behind writing it came from wanting to create a basis for family and friends of gamers to understand them and their world. I imagine we all have relatives who wonder, “Are video games a waste of time?” “Why does my spouse play video games in to the night?” “Why does my child want to play a video game instead of go outside and play?” “What’s got into him or her?” The book reveals online gaming in an easy-to-follow and riveting setting that marries pre-video game generations to current video game enthusiasts.
The Holder’s Dominion reveals the secret side to online games, and offers an avenue for different generations to understand one another. This book is a message of hope and support for anyone going through grief or who have been separated from their family. It’s a story about a girl who discovers the world of gaming, and how to get through the tough times between friends and loved ones. In addition, this book’s overarching concept and details within the story were composed to relate to the experience of a large and well-defined gaming community. It is an epic journey that will bring validation to gamers while intriguing them with speculative technology and a new world to adventure.
In writing The Holder’s Dominion, you didn’t just create a story—you created a world to go along with the story, including community pages and websites around the fictional Edannair’s world. We just love how many ways you have found to connect with your audience. Talk about the world you’ve created and how you envision fans engaging with it.
I’d love to! The book is a really unique novel and I wanted to create a unique experience that lived on beyond the pages. This way, even when the reader was finished reading the book, they could experience what the characters experienced first-hand. For example, Kaylie (the protagonist in Holder’s) peruses websites and watches videos from people who’ve interacted with the mysterious Holder who’s manipulating her friends into dangerous off-line missions. My creative producer, Eric, and I actually created the websites and worked with actors who brought these moments in the novel to life! We’re so excited to bring audiences a new and interactive way to enjoy their favorite books. Here are some links demonstrating this approach:
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
My mother actually just reminded me that I’ve been writing since I was a child. She mailed me chapters of books I’d started at eight years old. I had forgotten about that! I did an extensive amount of writing in college, through creative writing and play writing. This question also reminds me of a writing quote I came up with while writing Holder’s: “When is an author considered successful? The moment the inner story becomes ink on the page.” I think the same holds true for this question. For me personally, the realization that my career was going to be in writing happened as soon as I held the complete draft for The Holder’s Dominion. My whole goal is to connect families and friends together. And I think this book has the chance to do just that!
Your cover is AMAZING. Tell us about the artist who created it. What was important to you about choosing a cover artist?
Oh thank you! The front and back cover art are two distinctive paintings by the incredibly talented artist, Fabio Barretta Zungrone. He hand painted them digitally, and unlike other cover artist painters who conduct photo shoots first, Zungrone had no actors to paint from. He did it all pulling from his own talent. Zungrone is a Senior Matte Painter and an award-winning painter for Blizzard Entertainment. I feel privileged to know Fabio not only because of his powerfully moving artwork, but also because of the way he inspires everyone around him. He is genuine, warm, charismatic, and most empathetic. I simply cannot recommend him enough. Also, I did an artist spotlight featuring Zungrone to showcase more of his work. For anyone interested, click here!
The most important things my team and I thought about when picking a cover artist was quality, experience, raw, abundant talent, and genre. I think choosing an artist who has been producing artwork in the same genre as your book is highly beneficial and a great recommendation when interviewing potential artists. Book covers offer that spark which ignites the beginning of our book-relationships. When we read, we are there with each character, standing next to heroes, and fleeing with fugitives. Books allow us to experience secrets that would otherwise remain hidden, and from them we ourselves evolve. And how extraordinary that these relationships begin with that first glance—that single solitary moment when that magnificent book cover catches our eye. I am deeply honored to have a renowned video game artist legend like Zungrone as the book cover artist for The Holder’s Dominion.
You’ve also created the movement called The Gamer in You—what is it, and how does your book fit into it?
The Gamer in You was created to offer new meaning to the word “gamer.” No matter our passions: family, career, sports, meeting new people, traveling, puzzles, artistry . . . we all like to relax and play a game once in a while. Between card games, video games, board games, mobile games, and edutainment games, all of us can call ourselves gamers. I did not venture into the world of gaming until my adult life, and I’m proof that you do not have to grow up around video games to find the gamer within. The Gamer in You advocates for changing the term gamer to represent all people who like any kind of game, and for the word to be a universally positive term for everyone. No one should ever be ribbed for playing video games, as gaming encourages ingenuity, fun, togetherness, personal growth, and healthy social connections!
While some games are developed for mature audiences only, all video games encourage ingenuity, confidence, empathy, and team building that benefit players. Thousands of games incorporate multi-player mode that enhances the mentality to care about your team’s well being. Additionally, these games offer rich storylines with a legacy of lore and culture that the player (child or adult) can study and discuss. Not only do video games train your brain to make quick and accurate decisions, they also improve cognitive ability and eyesight. Children and adults play games as a way to spend time with their friends, and as a way to relax after school or work. Most of us will never know what it’s like to be a secret agent, soldier, or superhero, but video games can place anyone in the role of the hero.
Now, it’s important to remember that I didn’t grow up in or around the video game industry, or around video game players. I know how it feels to wonder why our friends, family, and loved ones seem “glued” to their electronics. And that’s part of the reason I’m so passionate to share all that I’ve discovered in the video game industry. It is not simply a set of pixels your children, spouses, or friends are staring at when they play games. It’s actually a whole spectrum of invention, discovery and ingenuity. Players are discovering artwork, storylines, history, skill sets, challenges, and collaboration of individuals on a planetary scale.
We heard you got into Comic-Con this coming July as an indie author (so exciting!). What do you hope to give and take away from that experience?
We’re so excited to be at Comic-Con this year! The origin and evolution behind Comic-Con is fascinating. In 1970, Comic-Con began as simply a comic-book exhibition, but since then it has grown into a worldwide phenomenon and boasts over 150,000 attendees. Comic-Con has always been a celebration of art and a tribute to the arduous journey that made that artwork possible, and now, this international convention has blossomed into a rich environment used to share the creative ingenuity of every art medium. Any fan of movies, video games, writing, comic-books, painting, 3D-animation, visual effects, and more, has a special place at this incredible event!
Tell us about your launch. You did lots of media, social media, and promotion leading up to it, including an article for Publishers Weekly. What do you feel was the most effective for you? Why?
On March 1st, Howie’s Game Shack hosted the official launch event for my book. The event included some amazing highlights! Check out the pictures and videos here: Recap: The Holder’s Dominion Launch Event – Video and Pictures
I feel that having a great team is essential for successful launch events and effective media marketing. My producer, publisher, publicist, and I reached out to best-selling authors, video game industry legends, and worked with several media outlets to share the positive and connective story that Holder’s offers. Publishers Weekly recognizes the huge amount of heartfelt stories set beyond high school, and featured a full-length article about The Holder’s Dominion and its new adult classification!
The reason I did not choose self-publishing is because I thrive on collaborative artwork. I love people, love working with them, and love hearing their ideas! That’s why I chose a mentoring publisher that follows the core values of traditional publishing where the publisher assigns a project manager, several editors, proofreaders, and provides book design. This crossover approach of independent publishing and traditional publishing goes hand in hand with my message about how helpful communities can be in personal endeavors. Communities impact our personal lives each and every day. And when we open ourselves up to learn from one another, magic happens! Also, it’s my belief that a great story is a great story no matter where it comes from. They key is focusing on quality, goals, and entertaining your specific audience.
We know you are also the host for the online TV show, Pixel Vision. Tell us about what Pixel Vision is and the mission behind it.
Pixel Legends, home of the official Pixel Legends Podcast on iTunes, provides a unique, insightful, and creative look into video games and the video game industry. Pixel Vision is the newest web-series by Pixel Legends! I joined the Pixel Legends team to host this reoccurring show where we’ll look deeper in to the world of video games. The first episode titled “The Gamer in You” just debuted on YouTube! We discuss the importance of understanding what “Gamer” really means and why we need to redefine this term. Check out the link below and see what’s true about gaming and what are the stereotypes: Click here for Pixel Vision’s pilot episode – “The Gamer in You.”
As we all know, there are many different kinds of authors—authors who want to entertain, authors who want to teach, authors who want to create a movement, etc. What kind of author are you? What would you like to see your book do?
My dream is to connect families and friends together! Like Kaylie, (the protagonist in The Holder’s Dominion) I came to gaming pretty late in life. In fact, as a young girl all my free time was spent at a horse barn where I learned the art of dressage and show jumping. I never expected to become an avid video game enthusiast. I ventured into the world of MMO gaming as an adult and discovered a passion for in-game community, especially in raiding teams. Working with industry professionals, I gained a deep understanding of video games and their artists, lore, culture, and development, and that’s how the story for Holder’s was born. I wanted to write for gamers and non-gamers alike about the unpredictable and influential ways that video games change us, and to share with others the amazing experience of collaborative video games and the communities that grow up in and around them. This fast-paced story aims to bridge the gap between families and friends of gamers who wonder about the allure behind their loved ones’ fascination with video games.
If you had one piece of advice for a writer just beginning a novel, what would it be?
Having a creative producer is the number one advice I would offer any writer looking for a breakthrough approach to writing. Whenever I get stuck or lost in the minutia of writing, I schedule a meeting with my producer and we have a production one-on-one, or a creative one-on-one. These are meetings where the author and producer can brainstorm, also known as “blue sky sessions,” and where we plan out small tangible goals using project management tools like Scrum. Project management doesn’t have to be solely for corporate environments anymore. Use these methods to develop your artistic projects, too! In fact, I’ll be talking more in depth about how to use project management tools for writing novels at a number of upcoming conventions this year. Come join in on the fun! To find a city near you, visit the “News & Appearances” section on my website!
If you had one piece of advice about the publishing process for a person with a fresh manuscript, ready to move into publishing, what would it be?
Before any author thinks about publishing, I think the best approach is to first hire excellent editors. The benefits from having a highly skilled and motivated team can significantly help the author’s success in the long run. Without a team, we are utterly alone. Producers and editors remind us of our goals, reveal new outlooks, and reinforce our personal convictions. Meet at least bi-monthly with your creative producer, and edit, edit, edit your work with your editors. Getting to work with several fantastic editors was integral in getting Holder’s where it is today.
Also, for anyone interested in tips and tricks on writing books, publishing, promoting, marketing, conventions, video game insights, or filming a book trailer, check out my blog titled “Between Books.” Most recently, I posted the article, “How to Shoot a Live-Action Book Trailer” and talked about the unique approach directors, Brian Horn and Eric Kieron Davis took to make The Holder’s Dominion live-action movie preview. See what they did on my YouTube channel!
I feel the secret to success is in extra preparation. So remember! Before you ever think about publishing, hire highly recommended editors to go through your novel with you. After I completed the first draft of Holder’s, I did this twice. I hired two different editors before approaching any agents or publishers. This way, you have a crisp, clean, tight, and thrilling manuscript ready to take the next step. (Which, remember, should be more editing and proofreading with your publisher, hehe.) Editing is key!
Thank you so much for having me, Wise Ink! And fellow netizens out there, let’s connect! I’d love to meet you! After all, we’re only a message apart. 😉
Genese’s social media info:
Thanks, Genese! We had a blast working with you, and can’t wait to see what else you do!
