Well, here we are at my first blog post for 2025. I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and a safe and happy new year.
Today, I bring you a great interview with Lydia Baker, sci-fi and fantasy author, and co-host of The Introverted Indies You Tube Chanel. Lets find out more.
Tell me about yourself
Hello Hayley, thanks so much for having me on your blog! My name is Lydia Baker and I am a mum of four, wife of one, teaching assistant and forest school assistant from the UK. As well as an aspiring author, can’t forget that bit!
How long have you been writing?
Goodness, forever! I remember writing stories when I was in primary school and being told to stop writing as I was rambling. I could have written pages and pages of probably rubbish at that age.
At around 15/16 years old I wrote my first full length novel, which was a fantasy. I made my poor English teacher read it and she was very kind and encouraging. It was more than likely awful, but her encouragement pushed me to keep going and like all things, the more we do them the better we get at them (hopefully!).
Since then, I’ve penned a few things that haven’t gone anywhere. However, in 2017 I self-published a fantasy called the Return of the Queen, whilst my daughter was 6 months old. It’s not my best work, but its got plenty of decent reviews.
In 2022, my sci-fi novel, AVA, was picked up by CAAB Publishing. However, after several years with my publisher, I decided to step away from them, so that I could release the rest of the series.
What was your favourite book / books as a child?
I loved Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. I also enjoyed Harry Potter as they came out when I was the same age as the main characters. I forever had my nose in a book as a child, I can’t remember all the ones I read but it sparked a love of books early on.
What inspired you to start your You Tube Channel?
Being an indie author is so hard. The community is fab, the people are great but it is like a stormy ocean out there. There are so many fabulous books that don’t get noticed and they really deserve to be read and seen and talked about.
So, Lucy A. McLaren (co-host) and I felt that we might be able to make a small difference to indie authors and give them a platform to share their books on. Our aim is to shout about all the awesome indie books out there and connect readers with authors. I’ve chatted with some awesome and inspirational authors.
Here is the link to our instagram and YouTube Channel for anyone who is interested!
What do you think are some of the challenges Indie authors face?
Like I said before, getting your book out there is so hard. There are so many good books out there and self-publishing is even more utilised than ever before that it often feels like you can get a little lost. I also find marketing hard, I can never think of reels to post or videos to make and the algorithm seems to hate me. I begrudge having to spend so much time on social media when I could be writing. But I guess it’s part and parcel of getting your book out there.
What comes first for you, the characters or the plot?
I have to say a bit of both. I often get a glimmer of an idea and the characters come with it. Along the way other characters tend to get involved but I often start with one or two core ones.
Are you a plotter or a panster?
Well, I definitely used to be more of a panster. But I found that stories sometimes lost their way a little or became another story and I was trying to splice two ideas together. So for the last few books I’ve written I’ve penned a loose outline. Not chapter by chapter or anything, just the key points, and how we get from the beginning to the end.
I also make notes in a notebook and on my phone about characters, descriptions, names, ages etc so I don’t forget anything. I also make notes at the end of the manuscript about things to add or things I want to write later on in the WIP. I found doing a small amount of planning has really helped me to write more cohesively. So I guess I am a planster?
Tell me about your latest release and what inspired the story.
My latest release was my sci-fi novel, AVA, way back in 2022. It was with a small publisher who I have now parted ways with. Here’s the blurb:
First, they came for the city and we allowed it, they put up the Barrier and we stayed quiet, silenced by the fear of what was beyond. Our elderly were next and still we didn’t cry out; then they came for the women, removed their fertility and stole our future, so I hid. I became Alec and I turned my back on my true self, Ava.
Ava can’t live as Alec any longer, the lie is killing her, destroying all that she is. The world beyond MTech’s Barrier calls to her and she can’t ignore it. She has to know what, if anything, survived the terrible day that tore her family apart fourteen years ago.
But what if the Outside is far more dangerous than anything Ava has ever faced on the Inside? Ava is set in a dystopian future, where individual rights are being eroded and the population live under a dome barrier that they have been told is for their protection. But, what is outside? Is escape possible and even if it is, will it be a death sentence?
I enjoy dystopian fiction and wanted to have a go at writing my own. AVA is a very flawed character who comes to realise that the world doesn’t revolve around her. AVA explores the idea of two very different worlds colliding and coming together to fight a common enemy. It asks lots of what if questions.
Are you working on anything at the moment?
I’m currently working on a crime novel called ‘Earth and Bones’. I’m a bit of a sucker for a crime documentary and I was watching one where the disappearance of girls wasn’t taken seriously. So, I wanted to tell their story. The book is set in a fictional place, with totally fictional characters but it explores how a serial killer is formed and how society has failed women who aren’t seen as “well to do”, as well as having a main character who wants to right all the wrongs of the past.
I’m currently running through the first edits and will be looking for BETA reads shortly. I’ve got plans to make it a series of 5 or more books.
What writing goals do you have for 2025?
I’ve currently got a speculative fiction novel that I’m querying, called ‘The Things We Left Behind’. It has had good feedback but no takers. So I’d love to find a home for that, either with a traditional publisher or self-published.
I’m aiming to re-release AVA and release book 2 in the series called ANNA. Also, I’d love for 'Earth and Bones' to find a home too, again either traditionally published or self.
Thank you so much for having me on your blog, Hayley. It’s been great answering your questions and I really appreciate you giving me the space to chat about writing and my books.
Here is my book link for The Return of the Queen https://amzn.eu/d/fzpzxQG
AVA - https://amzn.eu/d/834pFyn but they are second hand copies as I haven’t re-released it yet.
My website and newsletter https://lydiabakerauthor.beehiiv.com/subscribe
Threads - https://www.threads.net/@l.l.bakerauthor
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/l.l.bakerauthor/
Thanks to the wonderful Lydia for sharing with us on the blog. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to do a reading from my book 'Not Dead Yet' on the You Tube Chanel. Check it out below.
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