Loretta Sylvestre is a writer with a new book out that sounds fascinating. The name of the book is Lucky's World: Beyond the Wizard's

Threshold, and it's getting great reviews. Loretta is also the horror editor for Sonar4 Publications.

How long has your book, Lucky's World: Beyond the Wizard's Threshold been out and can you tell us a bit about what it is about?

Beyond the Wizard's Threshold was released late in August this year, by Lilley Press

Here's  a bit about the the characters and the story:

Three years before the story opens, Lucky was banished from his home world Ethra by a (yes, you guessed it) witch.  He landed in a world called Earth,

very much like the world we live in, with a few differences such as hidden portals to other worlds.  By the time three years has gone by, we find Lucky

living alone in an abandoned shack, making a scant living doing laundry and chores for criminals.  But at midsummer, his fourteenth birthday, he's confronted

by a choice between retrieving his "forgotten" past, or escaping his unwanted destiny.  He chooses, and as a result must take a step through a wizard's doorway. 

Magic is the last thing he wants; he is sick of his wierd life and wants nothing more than to be normal.  But when he makes his choice he must step through a

wizard's door, and his everyday life immediately begins to dissolve. Ice-breathing dragons, fire-breathing eagles, the witches zombie-like thralls, almost human

black-blooded cairnwights, red-eyed, double-fanged glacier wolves, and the witch who is wakened from death to be possessed by her monstrous god--but

worst of all the things he has to face is the fact that he himself is a magical being.  The book is about what he loses and what he gains when he 'steps up,' and

what it takes for him to go home.

Where did the concept for the story come from?

Though it wouldn't seem like it, the seed for the story was in physics--the theories about time travel and its paradoxes, string theory and its eleven (more or less)

dimensions, astro-physical discoveries about black holes, and so forth.  Initially I was looking to blend sci-fi and fantasy.  Not much of that is evident in the final

version, though it's still evident in the portals, the nature of the "evil god," and so forth.  Beyond that, I saw a person that I thought would make an interesting

character.  The two things somehow became, in my mind, a story.

Is contemporary-fantasy your favorite genre? What other genres to you write?

I do enjoy contemporary fantasy, and writing it, but it would be more accurate to say that what I write almost always has some element of fantasy--or magic--

to it, whether contemporary or not, whether this world or other.  The next installment in Lucky's Worlds, for instance, takes place for the most part in Ethra,

a world that doesn't look contemporary at all.  I have written some mainstream short stories, and some humorous stories, but probably my personal favorites

have been dark.  I think they can be classed as horror, but for the most part more psychological than physical.  One example "Old Bones, Secret Rain," which

can be found on the Tales from the Moonlit Path website, is about a strange type of possession that causes the main character to become an unwilling (perhaps)

serial killer.  Another,  "A More Beautiful Monster", is included in the 2009 Triangulation anthology, Dark Glass (Parsec, Ink).  It is set in a pseudo-Victorian

atmosphere, and features a sorcerer with the power to undo, for a price, an event in the past, and a priest, and a demon.  The murder involved is in my

(admittedly prejudiced) opinion, the most compelling thing I've written.  (Oooh.  Gives me chills.  I love it.)

How long did it take you to write this book, was it a life long dream to have a book published?

All told, from concept through final revisions for the publisher, it took three years, more or less.

Who is publishing the book and when will it be available to buy?

Lilley Press published it, in e-format.  It's been available since August at www.lilleypress.com .  The publisher unfortunately is at this point likely to close it's

doors in the near future.  If readers visit the website and are unable to purchase the book, it will temporarily be available by writing me at lsylvestre_writing@worldswellwritten.com . (That's an underline in the middle, not a space.)  (Any interested agents or publishers out there?  I'm just sayin'...)

How long did it take to find a publisher?

I started trying to market it in May of 2008, and it was picked up by the publisher in July of that year.  So, not long.  But for a laugh I'll tell you that from

my perspective it seemed like an eternity. 

Are there other books on the horizon for you... will there be a sequel to Lucky's World: Beyond the Wizard's Threshold?

Yes, to both!  I am right now working on Lucky'a Worlds: Beyond the Wraith Queen's Veil, and I'm really getting excited about it.  This book takes

Lucky back to his home world, Ethra, and pits him against the powers of hostile nature and his own fears.  It is more of a quest story than Wizard's

Threshold, and there's no villain, per se.  However, there are monstrous beasts, and even some of the helpers along the way are on the monstrous side. 

I have a couple of other fantasy stories in some stage of development, and I'm just starting to put together an idea involving an archeology find that leads

to experimental science going terribly wrong.  I'm calling it, in my mind, The Latter Day Orc.  Yes, there's a twist.  And, believe it or not, I'm researching

for a historical (darkish) romance, to take place in what is now northern France (Normandy, Brittany), in the middle ages. 

What was your favorite part of the book to write?

That is very difficult to answer, because writing the book, period, was fun.   I don't remember having any great frustration or writer's block.  One thing that

springs to mind are the really horror-ish scenes, the best example of which that I think of at the moment involves the witch--who has gone from horrible to

horribler--is giving her protege her power to control the thralls.  It involves a blood sacrifice and spiders.  I also enjoyed the action scenes, the scenes that

turned out to be humorous, and the scenes where Han (the warrior) is kicking... hiney.

What advise would you give to another writer wanting to get a book published?

Hm.  I was recently asked this question, and I think I stumbled a bit over my answer.  Let me try again.  First, keep writing no matter what.  Second,

when someone with a lot of experience--a teacher or many times published author--tells you how to do it better, pay attention.  Last, if you have tried

before to write a novel and not finished, turn it around.  Instead of starting at the beginning and working through, start at the beginning and jump to the end. 

That way, the book is already "finished," and all you have to do is fill it in.  

What made you go the ebook format route instead of a printed book?

Not really a decision.  The publisher stated it's intention to go to print after e-format.  Kind of looks like that will not now happen with this publisher, now. 

I do want the book(s) to come out in print, but I believe the time of the e-book has come, for many reasons.  What's needed to make it more universal are

better, more affordable reading devices to replace or supplement PCs, and to get the books and readers into school classrooms and libraries--raise up a

generation of ebook readers.

Thanks for the opportunity for this interview!