An Interview with Eda Scott

Eda lives in the Midwest, where the weather is unpredictable, with her husband, son, and daughter. During the day, Eda is a bookkeeper at a local consulting firm. Her evenings (and weekends) are filled with children’s activities and spending time with her family. At night when the children go to bed her passion comes to life. Unless there is a concert, then you will find her there.

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

Journey, Manitoba, is a fictitious town that holds a dark secret. Originally the title was going to be The Arcane; however, that had been used in the past. I was talking it out with Trista (Atmosphere Press, developmental editor) and she liked the idea of Journey’s Arcane. The title came about fairly fast.

How did it feel when you first saw your book cover? Or when you first held your book in your hands?

I’m pretty sure my whole neighborhood heard me squeal with excitement in the middle of our driveway.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

Life has a funny way of making its own path. Journey’s Arcane wasn’t written to be published. I had the desire to write, but I was in the middle of editing another project that was already over 600,000 words. Knowing that I needed to stop adding to that project, I started writing a story that was going to be 100% for only me. It was going to be my release when I was going through a difficult time, yet I wanted to add elements that I enjoyed. I love mythology – I added in different gods. Everyone has a vampire tale; so does Journey’s Arcane. Of course I had to add hallucinations – I love writing those elements. I am thankful for this path that I didn’t plan on taking.

What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?

The most rewarding part of publishing is the people I have met. The team at Atmosphere Press has been amazing in so many ways from start to finish. Networking with other authors and business owners has been rewarding to learn more about this industry. Then there are the fans who become friends. No longer do I live in a five-mile bubble, but now I talk to people on a daily basis all across the country and even in other countries. My world is no longer small, because I created a new one that brought us all together.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

Three songs are mentioned in Journey’s Arcane: Calum Scott – “You Are the Reason,” Roberta – “I’ll Be Hard to Handle,” and Fred Astaire – “Cheek to Cheek.”

What new writing projects are you currently working on? Or, other projects that are not writing?

Currently I am working on Journey’s Arcane sequel. It is mostly written and has a title, but is not ready to go out the door yet.

I also have a nonparanormal trilogy that takes place in the same world as Journey’s Arcane. It is a first-person point of view of the FMC, written about her life during her college years and a couple of years afterward. All three novels are ready to go out the door.

How was working with Atmosphere Press? What would you tell other writers who want to publish?

I didn’t know a thing about the industry, then throw in the horror stories of all the scammers that riddle this industry, and I felt lost. Even with that, when I first talked to Kyle McCord, I felt comfortable with him. Throughout the whole process, he would still check in to make sure everything was going well.

Alex Kale was supportive and encouraging through this whole process; she was incredible to work with, always checking in and getting back to me right away with any questions I had.

Working with Trista was the best part of working with Atmosphere Press. Working with her during the developmental editing process was the most informative and rewarding. Trista would question my writing to help develop it or give it clarity. It was never done harshly, but I felt as if we were a team working toward the best vision of Journey’s Arcane.

Bless Ronaldo Alves and Matthew Fielder for having patience with me during the cover design process. I was concerned that they were going to think I was a Karen because I had a specific image in mind. They accepted all my rough drafts and created a beautiful cover.

I was part of an incredible team at Atmosphere Press. I hope to be able to work with them again in the future.

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.