2017 Published Fantasy
The harpies, a humanoid, winged species, live in peace on their jungle planet, but evil forces conspire against them, and Shail, their golden ruler, again faces the challenge to save his flock.
Flight of the Golden Harpy II, Waylaid
Susan Klaus
Susan Klaus is the author of award-winning thrillers and fantasy. She is founder and president of Sarasota Authors Connection (250 members) and lives in Myakka City, Florida, raising rodeo bulls.
At the 2017 Royal Palm Literary Award Banquet, author Susan Klaus won first place for her published fantasy novel, Flight of the Golden Harpy II, Waylaid. Each year at the RPLA Banquet, authors experience the joy of earning accolades for all the hard work that is often done in the privacy of the home with little to no recognition. We’re showcasing the best of the best with our First Place winners spotlight. Not only does RPLA recognize extraordinary talent, but we’re giving readers an opportunity to sample excerpts from the winning stories.
Click the link to read a sample:
Excerpt from Flight Of The Golden Harpy II
Q: Where do you get your story ideas?
A: The story idea for my fantasy series about the half-human, half-bird harpies came after spending twelve hours as an extra on the movie set of Ocean’s Eleven with Brad Pitt. He, of course, was gorgeous, but it was sad when he was mobbed for pictures and autographs. That was the idea, a beautiful and intelligent creature’s POV of the humans hunting him and his flock like game trophies.
Q: Anything in particular about you award-winning FPLA entry that you’d like to share?
A: Surprised. The first novel, Flight of the Golden Harpy, won the RPLA for Best Unpublished Fantasy and it got me an agent and was published by Tor Books, but sequels usually don’t fare so well. So, yeah, I was flabbergasted it won.
Q: Who do you credit with inspiring your writing?
A: It’s not from great writers and their stories, but I’m inspired after seeing a bad movie or reading a boring book. I come away thinking I could write a better plot than that. The other inspiration are my muse, a young Brad Pitt for the fantasies, and Chris Hemsworth for my thrillers. I love taking my boys on an impossible journey and learning how they end up. The satisfaction and fun keeps me writing.
Q: Any tips for new writers?
A: So many writers focus on the craft, producing beautiful, accurate sentences. Don’t. Agents and publishers want unique or timely stories with interesting characters. The writing is secondary. And when you’re done with your manuscript, spend the money and hire a qualified editor with a good track record. Bobbie Christmas has edited all my traditional published books.
Thank you for sharing, Susan, and congratulations! Visit his website: www.susanklaus.com
Ready to read the rest of the book? Click the link to purchase: Flight of the Golden Harpy II, Waylaid
A message about supporting literacy in Florida:
If every member of FWA went to Smile.Amazon.com, chose Florida Writers Foundation, Inc. as their charity and, instead of logging into Amazon.com, logged into Smile.Amazon.com, FWF would receive 0.5% of the purchase funds. Every time.
We could significantly fund the literacy efforts of our organization. No money out of your pockets…just some invested time to set this up.
How easy for us to make a difference. To see all of our work, please read the pages of our website www.floridawritersfoundation.com. You’ll be proud.
Tom Swartz, President, FWF
Mary J. Staller
Hello Veronica and Susan! I really enjoyed your post. I absolutely love reading Author’s articles, interviews, and the journey. I Loved reading about the inspiration for this book. It’s amazing how Susan’s compassion for Brad developed into a great fantasy idea. Simply Wonderful!
Best wishes for continued success, Mary