Author Interview – Ben Galley

Tell us a little about yourself:

I’m Ben Galley and I’m the author of the epic and dark fantasy series – The Emaneska Series. I’m also a self-publishing consultant at my site Shelf Help, giving advice and providing services to indie authors.

It is vital to get exposure and target the right readers for your books, tell us about your marketing campaign?

My marketing campaign isn’t a campaign as such – it’s a constant effort, using as many ideas and methods and tricks as possible. My aim is to increase sales, whilst also increasing general awareness and reach. I use a lot of Twitter to engage with existing readers and new ones, while also sourcing reviews, writing guest blogs, writing blogs of my own, and also doing a lot of tours and signings, to meet people in person.

Tell us about your books? What are they about?

The Emaneska Series is an epic fantasy trilogy set in a dark, medieval, and wintry world called Emaneska. The books follow the troubled path of a mage called Farden, who finds himself at the centre of a vicious plot to bring the world to its knees. As the Series progresses, the plot grows deeper, darker, and more personal, until Farden is forced to fight not only his own demons, but those that threaten to tear Emaneska apart as well. It’s a wild mix of mystery, action, emotion, myth, and war.

When and why did you begin writing?

I’ve been writing ever since I could hold a pencil, and I’ve always been writing fantasy. My parents introduced me to mythology and Tolkien at a very young age, and I developed a voracious diet for it. It was a natural progression to go from inhaling stories to dreaming up my own. I simply couldn’t help it.

How often do you write? And when do you write?

I try and scribble a little something every day, usually when I am alone, and it’s quiet, and I can block out the world and focus.

How do you feel about self-publishing?

Very strongly. I truly love it. It enabled me and countless others to publish my books, my stories, and without it, they would be languishing in a drawer or on a hard-drive, reader-less and pointless. Self-publishing has given me a global fanbase, an income, and allowed me to achieve my childhood dream of being an author.