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Featured Author - R.L. Royle


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Welcome to our last FA of the year! That came round quick! Rebecca has written two books, and is due to write her third once she's done some travelling.

 

I know that I'm the only one who's read the books (so far), but I found them both pretty amazing! Rebecca can also chat to us about the process of getting published, why she set up her own company, etc.

 

Welcome Rebecca. :readingtwo:

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Hi. Welcome to the forum. Schizophrenia is a complex issue. Did you do a lot of research for Lucy's Monster?

 

Hi Icecream,

 

Pleased to speak to you. :readingtwo: I did indeed do a lot of research: as well as buying books and scouring the internet, I wrote to psychiatric hospitals up and down the country, spoke at length to a councillor, a social worker and a lady with schizophrenia herself. Researching schizophrenia was fascinating but the main thing I learnt was how misunderstood it is. Schizophrenia is just one word but the illness itself is different from one person to the next. Mostly people living with schizophrenia keep it under control with medication and can live their lives as normal, but in the case of my character Lucy, she denied it to herself for years and never sought help, which allowed it to eventually take her over after a particularly traumatic event. Lucy

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Hi Icecream,

. Researching schizophrenia was fascinating but the main thing I learnt was how misunderstood it is. Schizophrenia is just one word but the illness itself is different from one person to the next. Mostly people living with schizophrenia keep it under control with medication and can live their lives as normal, but in the case of my character Lucy, she denied it to herself for years and never sought help, which allowed it to eventually take her over after a particularly traumatic event. Lucy

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You've been in marketing for eight years and now, published your own books. My question is what promotional tools do you think work best?

 

Hi Jen,

 

Thanks for posting.

 

Book wise in a nut-shell; I'd say reviews, direct mail and word of mouth work best.

 

One thing that's really benefited me is creative marketing. For instance, in order to get a publication to pay attention to me to get a review in the first place, I send my book to the media in a quirky manner that stands out. Usually after sending it, I'll ring a national publication and say: 'just checking that you've received my book, Eleven Terrible Months,' and they'll reply: 'we get hundreds of books, erm... I don

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Hi Rebecca - it's great to have you here! I see that you're very interested in the paranormal (and have some of your own personal experiences on the Dog Horn site). How has that influenced your writing?

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Thanks Rebecca. My OH has Schizophrenia and you are right. It is definitely misunderstood. Sometimes even the professionals don't have a clue. I think even some of the people closest to OH from his past do not understand that, but I noticed it more or less straight away.

 

As for medication, although he is not on it anymore (he has learned to manage it himself after 20 or so years and is not as bad now anyway) he has told me a lot about what things he was on the past and has done a lot of research himself. I am not sure whether it is actually a good or bad thing.

 

Your book sounds great. I shall have to see if I can find the money for it one day:)

 

Jen, I am sorry to hear about that. It can be a terrible thing to live with.

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Gosh, that must have been terrible for her and her family. Did they find another way to help her?

 

Not really. Her family tried. She moved to another state that had much better mental health care. I think that's the one thing that really isn't talked about is the effect on the family of the person with the illness.

When my husband was married to her, he called the Mental Health hotline locally and they told him the only thing to help him deal with his wife's illness was individual therapy.

What he saw was that the people who live with the ill person are often frightened, resigned, abused and unable to help.

I wondered if you covered that in your book--not only the destruction of a mind, but the helplessness of those who love that person.

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Hi Rebecca - it's great to have you here! I see that you're very interested in the paranormal (and have some of your own personal experiences on the Dog Horn site). How has that influenced your writing?

 

Hi Kell!

 

Thank you, it's great to be on!

Oo yes, I've been interested in the paranormal for most of my life. It does indeed influence my writing, and I've been wanting to write a realistic ghost story since I was ten and first saw Amityville Horror. At that point, it was still dubbed as a true story, but even then I remember thinking 'walls bleeding?! That doesn't happen!' and pretty much every horror I watch or read frustrates me as they are either unrealistic from the off-set or descend into lunacy half way through! I wanted to write something that regular people like you or I could associate with, and i think that's what makes it so scary: it could be your family, it could be you.

My third book - which I am beginning writing once I get back from my travels - is also influenced by my belief in the paranormal, but not about ghosts or hauntings.

 

Thanks for your message Kell.

 

Take Care,

 

Rebecca

x

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Gosh, that must have been terrible for her and her family. Did they find another way to help her?

 

Not really. Her family tried. She moved to another state that had much better mental health care. I think that's the one thing that really isn't talked about is the effect on the family of the person with the illness.

When my husband was married to her, he called the Mental Health hotline locally and they told him the only thing to help him deal with his wife's illness was individual therapy.

What he saw was that the people who live with the ill person are often frightened, resigned, abused and unable to help.

I wondered if you covered that in your book--not only the destruction of a mind, but the helplessness of those who love that person.

 

It

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Thanks Rebecca. My OH has Schizophrenia and you are right. It is definitely misunderstood. Sometimes even the professionals don't have a clue. I think even some of the people closest to OH from his past do not understand that, but I noticed it more or less straight away.

 

As for medication, although he is not on it anymore (he has learned to manage it himself after 20 or so years and is not as bad now anyway) he has told me a lot about what things he was on the past and has done a lot of research himself. I am not sure whether it is actually a good or bad thing.

 

Your book sounds great. I shall have to see if I can find the money for it one day:)

 

Jen, I am sorry to hear about that. It can be a terrible thing to live with.

 

I'm sorry to hear of your partner's problems with schizophrenia but glad that he's used mind over matter and research to help himself. The professionals themselves admit that they still have a lot to learn. Even just a short time ago as in the 70s, hospitals used to strap sufferers to a bed and give them LSD, thinking that would help! I can't tell you how shocked I was to learn that. These days, for those suffering from schizophrenia in the extreem, hospitals tend to use electric convulsive therapy as well as cognitive therapy and neuroleptic medication. It seems there is a clear divide as to whether ECT is beneficial or not, some doctors swear by it and others are against it, which I think still shows there's a long way to go.

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There is a new movement afoot to destigmatize mental health issues and diseases of the mind, and it makes me so very happy! Here in the US there is a new college-focused group called Active Minds, that has been gaining some ground. I work at a psych hospital, and it is so useful for people to know that they are not alone in the fight. Did you know Mark Vonnegut, Kurt's son, is a practicing pediatrician who has fought schizophrenia as well? I think more stories like his, and other real people, that highlight functionality are important and need to be passed on. Like Kitty Dukakis, wife of a former governor and presidential candidate here in Massachusetts, and her book about her depression (specifically ECT).

 

And you're right, JenMcK, I think there is such a disparity in access to health care and resources that can really affect people's treatment as well.

 

Thank you, Rebecca, for talking about this. And to Icecream for sharing:)

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Hi Guys,

 

It's me, Rebecca, the author of Lucy's Monster and Eleven Terrible Months. You may have heard that we've arranged some special offers for members of the Book Club Forum, if you would like to buy a copy of either of my books direct from my website.

The offers are:

FREE UK POSTAGE on the purchase of 1 book

UK: Buy Lucy

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Thanks for that Rebecca. :)

 

Did you approach any of the existing publishers before deciding to create your own?

 

Hi Michelle,

 

Unusually, no. Some people see self publishing as a last resort but it was my first choice, seen as I had been working in marketing for so long anyway. I always dreamed of coming up with my own book cover and marketing my work my way and so - following some advice - I set up Dog Horn Publishing from the off-set. It has been great fun and a brilliant way to get my foot in the door of the industry but, boy does it take some work!!! I've been eating, sleeping and dreaming Dog Horn since 2004 and I'm now looking forward to stepping down on Jan 19th (a friend is taking over and expanding it) so I can wholly concentrate on my writing. Now I've got a good record of sales and reviews with two books in print, I'm going down the major publishers route to try and get my big break. Please all keep your fingers and toes crossed for this little writer!!! Even if I don't 'make it', I'll still be writing for the rest of my life. I can't help but do so and I love it, I'd just be great to make enough money to write for a living as for now I have to pay the bills through jobs I don't like and that's not good for one's soul! :(

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I'm also intrigued by your books! The issue of schizophrenia also hits close to home for me. My boyfriend's favorite uncle had the disease for many years after using drugs heavily when he was younger. Unfortunately, his therapy didn't work and he committed suicide a little over 6 years ago. It was a major trauma for my boyfriend. I was with him when he found out, and he's been struggling with panic disorder and anxiety ever since. His uncle had been living with his mother (BF's grandmother) whom I suspect has mental disorders of her own.

 

I'm also interested in your book about the haunting. I'm not sure how available your books are here in the US, but I'm hoping to get my hands on them soon!:(

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I'm also intrigued by your books! The issue of schizophrenia also hits close to home for me. My boyfriend's favorite uncle had the disease for many years after using drugs heavily when he was younger. Unfortunately, his therapy didn't work and he committed suicide a little over 6 years ago. It was a major trauma for my boyfriend. I was with him when he found out, and he's been struggling with panic disorder and anxiety ever since. His uncle had been living with his mother (BF's grandmother) whom I suspect has mental disorders of her own.

 

I'm also interested in your book about the haunting. I'm not sure how available your books are here in the US, but I'm hoping to get my hands on them soon!:)

 

Hi Echo,

Thanks for posting. I am sorry to hear about your bf's uncle - it's awful that he felt that ending it was the only way out. I hope your boyfriend will - in time - take something positive from it (ie. advise ppl not to use drugs!) and remember happier days from his uncle's life. I don't know what drugs his uncle was taking, but myself and a group of friends went through a stage of smoking weed very heavily but I started to become paranoid and scared of the world, and since I've stopped I've become my old self again. Doing anything to excess is a bad idea, especially substances that toy with your mind. If you

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I've just asked Echo whether she's ever had a run-in with the supernatural, and thought I'd put the question out to the forum. What do you believe? Have you ever seen a ghost or a spirit? :lurker:xxx

*Hand goes uplike an eager schoolgirl!* Me! Me! I've had a few encounters! Strangely, despite the fact that I've had several ghostly experiences myself, I remain one of the most sceptical people about so-called sightings, and am always on the lookout for how the "evidence" might have been doctored or even faked outright. I can't watch programmes with people like Derek Accorah as he makes me feel sick - he comes across (at least to me) as such a charlatan! I remain doubtful that we'll ever have final proof of the existance of spririts (other than the bottled, drinkable kind), and while we only have personal experience to go on, the world at large will remain sceptical...

 

Got another quick question for you too:

How did you choose the name for your publiching company? And do you have any plans to take on ther authors, or will Dog Horn remain strictly personal?

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Of course there is a spirit world. What else happens when we die? I don't see why the two can't mix and I think that sometimes they do but I have no proof of course.

 

Echi. I am sorry to hear about your experience but I have to say this, Schizophrenia is not a disease.

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