Shaunavon resident Dianne Greenlay has embarked on an exciting new adventure. The local author recently released her first published work, a novel entitled “Quintspinner - A Pirate’s Quest,” on July 13.
“It’s very exciting,” commented Greenlay. “My daughter phoned me the day it was released and asked me how I felt. I told her, ‘I’ve stared at the page for 20 minutes on Amazon. That’s how excited I am.’”
Set in the 1700s, “Quintspinner” takes readers on a journey of pirates, danger, magic, and romance as it tells the story of 16-year-old Tess Willoughby.
When Tess witnesses the murder of a renowned elderly seer and becomes the mistress of a spinner ring with prophetic powers, circumstances quickly spiral out of the young girl’s control. She finds herself not only trapped on a merchant ship bound for the pirate-infested waters of the West Indies, but also unwillingly betrothed to the murderer, who covets the power of her ring. Despite her growing affection for a sailor onboard, Tess realizes that her fiance is, strangely, the only person who can ensure her safety throughout the perilous journey.
A novel primarily for young adults, the fast-paced, plot-driven “Quintspinner” took Greenlay about nine months of writing part-time to complete. The process was one that involved a vast amount of research.
“A lot of research goes into any novel, but particularly a historical novel such as mine, where you don’t have that hands-on knowledge of the time period. So I had to research everything... the food on ships, how they kept things afloat, weapons, bathrooms, even things like how many people it takes to fire a cannon,” explained Greenlay.
“I now own a personal library in excess of 30 reference texts. The reading public now are really smart, so you better make sure you know that what you’re writing is for real,” she continued. Greenlay also visited several Maritime museums to assist in her writing.
Also notable is the fact that Greenlay self-published the novel, utilizing an assisted self-publisher called iUniverse.
Self-publishing, an alternative to traditional publishing, is the publication of a book by the author of that work without the involvement of an established third-party publisher or agent. With the internet’s influence, the option has recently been gaining popularity among writers, as it is often cost-effective, relatively fast, pays much better than standard royalty contracts, and lets one maintain control over the publishing process.
“In this past year, there’s been an explosion in self-publishing, so I started to research it. iUniverse got really good reviews, so I contacted some of their authors who are now on the New York Times bestseller list and was really encouraged to try it out,” explained Greenlay.
“You must be motivated and have the skills and enthusiasm to get out there, promote yourself and do all the work. But for the average, unproven author, self-publishing is the way to go,” she continued.
Greenlay, who runs her own physiotherapy clinic in Shaunavon, has always dabbled in creative writing. Besides writing fiction, she is also an amateur playwright.
“(Writing) is such a strong creative outlet, and it’s kind of an escape from the everyday humdrum. When you get involved with your characters and your words,... you totally get swept away,” said Greenlay of the process. “The characters are so alive. You have a plot outline at the beginning, but the characters take you in a totally different and unexpected direction and you have to go with the flow.”
Though Greenlay is eager to see the response her novel will get, the decision to pursue publishing has already been a rewarding one. “It began as one of the things to do on my bucket list and just morphed into a commercial viability for me. I found I wanted a bit more reward than just personal satisfaction... for having put in so much time writing,” she explained.
“It’s also been an enormously steep learning curve for me technologically. So I’ve learned a lot and have also been taken into a whole new field of interest and understanding of the publishing world.”
Greenlay plans on holding two book launch events, one in Shaunavon and possibly one in Eastend, in late-August or early-September. “Quintspinner” will be available at the events for purchase and signing.
Until then, interested readers can buy “Quintspinner” online at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and iUniverse.com, among other websites, in paperback, hard cover, and e-Book format.
“Quintspinner” won’t be the last readers see of Greenlay’s work either. The eager author already has another two novels in the “Quintspinner” series outlined. She also has ideas in place for another unrelated fiction book and for two non-fiction books to be written sometime in the future.