Alina Bellchambers (part 2)

Speaker 1 00:02

This is a Vision Australia Radio podcast.

Speaker 2 00:18

On Vision Australia Radio, welcome to our conversations on the work and experiences of Emerging Writers. I'm Kate Cooper, and our guest today is Alina Bellchambers - actor, model and public speaker, whose debut novel, The Order of Masks, is being released in Australia in September 2024 and the UK in December 2024. Alina, welcome to the program. We spoke last week about how you planned and wrote your novel, the structure and characterisation and about the fantasy genre in general, so I'm delighted to continue our conversation this week.

Speaker 3 00:57

Me too, thank you so much for having me back. 

Speaker 2

You mentioned last week about your publishers, and I wanted to ask you how you went about approaching potential publishers for your novel and how did you decide to settle on Pan Macmillan Australia and Hot Escape UK?

Speaker 3 01:14

Well, my agents are absolutely fantastic. So I'm represented by Josh Adams in the US and Christopher McKinley at DHA in the UK. So they were the ones that helped me sort of format The Order of Masks before it went out on submission. There weren't many changes for that, but I did actually rewrite the entire book from third person to first person just because I wanted it to be really, really engaging and immediate. And I did actually add in some additional sort of world building and some more chapters with Scarlett as well.

So then we went out on submission to publishers after that. And I was just so fortunate. I actually received multiple publishing offers in Australia. And I got to go on a Zoom and basically chat with the editors. And I'm so grateful for their enthusiasm and their support. And I did go with Pan Macmillan, you know, and I'm really thrilled to obviously be with the team there and then Hot Escape in the UK. But it was just so, so exciting to get the enthusiastic response and also yet to be able to talk to them about it and have the deal come through. It's still surreal to me, really.

Speaker 2 02:28

And Alina, last week you spoke about your experience working with your editors... so building on that, the overall experience of working with a publisher on preparing your novel The Order of Masks for print, and what you learned from that experience?

Speaker 3 02:45

Oh, it was definitely a learning experience, but I'd say a very, very positive one. You know, I really, I'm so grateful for the opportunity to, to work with the publishers and the editors. And I think their suggestions just brought the book to, to another level. And when I say that it wasn't actually so much changing what was already there. It was very much adding more in. They got me to add an extra 50 ,000 words to the book. So it was originally about 105 ,000 words, I believe, when it was on submission and it was bought by publishers.

And then during the editing process, ended up about 155, I think, or maybe 150. And so then, uh, it really became a, just a cutting it down on the, the line level. And I got it back down to about 120,000 words.

Speaker 2 03:34

That's an enormous amount of work. It's hideous.

Speaker 3 03:38

Yeah, it is. Look, it was a lot of work, but I'm so grateful to be published, and this is what I want to do, and I love it so much. So it didn't feel that way. The only thing, I think, was the deadlines and just moving very quickly to get this all done. But yeah, we certainly hit the publication deadline that we wanted, so it all worked out very well.

Speaker 2 03:58

Fantastic, and Alina the cover design of your novel is very striking, and it also features on your website which we'll talk about later. Who designed the cover and what was the process for deciding on that particular design?

Speaker 3 04:12

Yeah, look, I absolutely love the cover. It's 100%, it's just what I wanted. And I think the cover designer was so clever with the way she's incorporated everything on here. Basically, it's got a mask on the cover, not a very normal mask, a very fantasy looking, beautiful mask. The two sides represent the two different main characters. One's a bit more sinister looking than the other. And it's got a blood ruby in the center with some tendrils that represent blood magic. The artist who brought it to life is Marcela Bolova. She's a German artist, and my UK publisher recommended her. 

Originally, they asked me, hey, do you wanna do something with more of a 3D style, or would you like to do something, you know, a little bit sort of softer? And I liked both styles, but for this book, which is a little bit more sort of punchy, cinematic, really high stakes, I wanted it to be something that just jumps out at you. And so I think going with that 3D approach has worked really well. My Australian publisher, we were originally going to do our own cover, but everyone agreed that the UK cover was just so fantastic that we all wanted to keep it consistent in the end.

Speaker 2 05:26

No, it is really lovely and very effective. Alina, you mentioned before about having literary agents, the US, the UK, and we mentioned in the introduction that you're also an actor, model, and public speaker, and I'm going to ask you more about those in a while. Do you have one agent here in Australia for all of your roles or different agents, and how do you go about deciding how you want to be represented?

Speaker 3 05:53

Oh, that's a tough one. No, I do have different agents for pretty much everything. So for acting and modeling, for acting at the moment, it's RMT management in Adelaide that represent me. Angie is the name of the woman who owns it. And yeah, they've been very, very positive. I actually got a role in a feature film this year. I can't give the name of it, unfortunately due to non -disclosure, but that was incredibly exciting to have that. And then for modeling, I signed with Finesse Models this year and Bridget has been absolutely incredible for that. I'm doing a runway show next month, I believe is coming up. And then for my wonderful literary agents, it was quite a process querying.

And if you ever want to talk about advice for aspiring authors, I'm always happy to do that. But yeah, I was very lucky in my querying journey to find those two. And I'm also represented through Josh Adams and his connections by the Paul Koffner Agency in Beverly Hills for film and television.

Speaker 2 07:01

Oh, so plans in that area for the future... ?

Speaker 3 07:05

Yes, hopefully, so that's all book-related, so we'll just watch this space.

Speaker 2 07:10

Sansite will have to have you back into the studio down the track to hear how it all goes, so I'll make a note of that. I would love that. Alina, Natalie May, who's the author of the kinder poison trilogy, writes of your novel, from page one, the order of masks grabbed me by the throat and never let go.

Speaker 2 07:31

Shocking, unpredictable, devastating, characters you can never trust, but desperately want to, a glittering dagger of a book that cuts as much as it oars. A glittering dagger of a book is a wonderful.

Speaker 3 07:45

Oh, I love her review. It's incredible and I also just love her as a person. She's the nicest person. She's great.

Speaker 2 07:52

And last week you mentioned about getting feedback on your work in progress and I wanted to ask what it's like to give your work to other authors before it's published. Is this something that your agent or publisher manages for you? How does it work and how nerve-wracking is it?

Speaker 3 08:08

Oh, very nerve-wracking always, but I think other authors are usually very supportive because they've been through the process as well. So particularly with Natalie, I love her trilogy, The Kind of Poison. It's got a lot of the morally grey characters and high stakes and things like that that I really love. So it was a bit of a dream come true, or not a bit actually, it was a dream come true, to have her read and review The Order of Masks. And when I saw that review come in, and she's also messaged me saying that she loved it so much, yeah, it's just been very special. 

So I'm hoping to maybe even do an Instagram Live with her at some point and just talk about our respective books because it sounds like we've got a lot in common. And we also just love morally grey male love interests as well, so lots to chat about there. But no, it's just very exciting to share my work with other authors. And yeah, I've got a few very exciting authors who've got my work at the moment. And so it's just depending on deadlines, whether they can review it in time, but I have my fingers crossed.

Speaker 2 09:12

This sounds good, so exciting, more so than scary.

Speaker 3 09:16

Yes, oh definitely, definitely. Everything about this is very exciting.

Speaker 2 09:20

Alina, you have your own website, alinabellchambers.com, which includes details of events where you're speaking and other information about your work, including how to order copies of your novel. Would you tell us about your website, how you set it up and how you manage it?

Speaker 3 09:39

Yes, so Yes, so I started out working with Gin& Co. Gin's a website designer for authors who's based in Melbourne, Australia. Gin was absolutely fantastic, very helpful. And I've also since been working with Julie from Priceless Design. She designed Jennifer Armentrout's website, who is another really well known fantasy author. And yeah, she's just done a very good job. She's just added a few extra touches for me. You know, we've got the logo set up now with my name. I've just recently got a whole lot of character art done, which I am so excited about. So Sasha Lee Coleman on Instagram, she did some art of Mira and Scarlet for me. 

And then I've also got some art of the main female characters also with their love interests. And that was done by Salome Toltozole on Instagram. And she's she's absolutely fantastic as well. So I've got that on the website at the moment. And it's just been lovely to see how it comes together. I pretty much just update it myself now. I'll be posting something about my book launch that I had on Tuesday at Dimix, Rundle Mall. So I'll be sharing that in a blog post shortly.

Speaker 2 10:50

So, are you self-taught with your web skills?

Speaker 3 10:54

I am, I am, but having said that, I think when you get a website designer to set it up for you, they're very good at trying to set it up in a way that you can change things yourself. So no, I'm definitely not someone who's super comfortable doing it on my own from start to finish.

Speaker 2 11:12

And speaking of the availability of your book, it's also in e-book and audio book formats which is of particular interest to our listeners. What was the process for making an audio recording of your novel and how can our listeners access that?

Speaker 3 11:27

Of course. So actually I love the audio book. I have to say, I'm so excited to share that with you all. The narrator for that is Haley Edwards and she's done an absolutely fantastic job. So I'm, I couldn't be more thrilled with what she's come up with. I know that it's available on Audible and I, I gave other options as well on my website where I list where the books available. I believe Spotify was one of those options. I'm not sure if Apple Books was. So I might just have to check on that one, but I definitely list that. And if you go to the Pam Macmillan website as well, and you search the order of masks, there's also a page there where it says where the book's available and it's got all the listings for audio book and also for e-book.

I can say eBooks pretty very widely available to Kindle, Amazon and various other online platforms. In terms of creating the audio book, I think recently I've been contacted by my UK publisher because the books coming out in December in the UK, they've been sending me samples of audio from, from various narrators. And so I've... had the wonderful experience of being able to listen to clips and, and just sort of see how they all bring them to life, but in a different way. So that's been very special.

Speaker 2 12:50

So you'll have a different audiobook in the UK with an English accent compared to Australia.

Speaker 3 12:55

Oh wow. Yes. And I believe in the UK, they're doing things slightly differently. They're going to have two narrators. So they're going to have a different narrator for Mira and also for Scarlet, which is interesting. But I do think that in Australia, having the one narrator has been wonderful as well. I think Hailey is great in the sense that she brings something different to both of the characters. So you feel like there's still that difference between them.

Speaker 2 13:24

On Vision Australia Radio, you're listening to our conversation program Emerging Writers. Our guest today is Alina Bellchambers, actor, model and public speaker and author of the fantasy novel The Order of Masks. In last week's conversation, you did mention having other writing as well as your debut novel - so would you tell us what else you've got written?

Speaker 3 13:50

Oh, sure. I always love to talk about it. So and I should clarify by starting because sometimes people get a bit confused when I say I've written, you know, six manuscripts. They say, Oh, you know, can I buy them? No. So the Order of Masks is my first book to be published. And my other manuscripts, they're all ones that I do want to share with publishers down the track, but they haven't gone out to publishers yet. So they're really just for me at this stage. But I want to get them published. So I my writing journey really started when I was travelling overseas for the first time and I wanted something to read. 

And I was obviously an avid reader when I was a child and I felt like I'd read everything and I decided to write something myself to read on the plane. So I wrote my very first full length manuscript, 100,000 word fantasy book effectively, and I read that for myself at the moment. It's still just for me. But I read a couple I read a couple that were just for fun during my teenage years, another 100,000 word fantasy and a 600,000 word sci-fi trilogy, which you never know I might do something with one day.

But when I in 2020, when I had more time, I really just focused on writing for publications. So I created my very first book that I really want to get published, which is a dystopian thriller based on a nightmare that I had, which was just terrifying, but fantastic middle, so beginning, middle and ending. And then after that, I wrote The Order of Masks and I also wrote a couple other fantasies and some thrillers and then I started looking into publication. And when I did that, I knew that The Order of Masks was a book that was very sort of topical and it fits with that.

You know, everyone really likes romanticy at the moment and, you know, Game of Thrones, the Hunger Games, you know, it just fits in with those sorts of genres. So I really wanted to pursue publication for that one first.

Speaker 2 15:54

And we said in our conversation last week, your book does cover questions of women in power and the decisions that women have to make in regard to how they use their power, and also that it is a fantasy, it does have, you said, romanticy before, and also elements of a thriller.

Speaker 2 16:14

So you've woven in elements from different genres and really struck, you're quite right, and a topical theme of women in power.

Speaker 3 16:24

Oh, thank you very much. And I think that's something that's so great about writing amongst thrillers and fantasies as you've picked up on is that you can take the best of both worlds and you can kind of weave them into something special.

Speaker 2 16:36

And there aren't really strict rules anymore, are there, about genres. So if you want to blend, well, I guess that's the question. Yeah. If you want to blend the fantasy, romanticism, thriller genre and drawing elements, what's to stop you?

Speaker 3 16:51

Well, I think so. And I think it can still be called, you know, fantasy. So it still fits in that genre. But I think it's really lovely to have those other elements and to use those and, you know, take strengths from different genres. I mean, why not? It makes it interesting and a bit unexpected as well.

Speaker 2 17:07

And we talked last week about how you structured your novel and that when you were working on it You were quite immersed and you could easily write for 12 hours a day Oh, yes, but that and you mentioned muscle memory that you did have the discipline of writing Every day. I want to ask you too. Do you carry notebooks around with you make notes on your phone? How do you get those really vivid descriptions?

Speaker 3 17:36

Oh, I definitely do. I carry notebooks with me and, you know, I've always got my phone with me if I have to make a note and I haven't got a notebook. But often I find a lot of my inspiration comes from when I'm actually driving in my car listening to music. I think music is so inspirational and depending on the song, it sort of affects my mood and the way I'm thinking about things. And so, you know, certain scenes can come to me listening to certain songs. And I think, you know, I even have songs on my playlist now and I think the majority of them all remind me of a particular book and even a particular scene in each book.

Speaker 2 18:14

So I have to ask you now about your music preferences.

Speaker 3 18:17

Of course, of course, it really depends if I'm talking about my writing music or just my everyday music because they are different. I think because I write stories with a slightly darker edge, my music choices are always a bit darker with my, you know, with my writing side. Definitely when I was writing Scarlett and Mira, I had different music for each of the characters. So to give you an idea, you know, Mira's quiet, she's brash, she's impulsive, she's a fighter. So you can imagine, you know, maybe like a bit more upbeat in certain ways, Scarlett's quite villainous. And I think when I was trying to get into her head, I did, you know, listen to a lot of songs that were a little bit more sort of slower tempo and a little bit darker.

Speaker 2 19:04

And when you're not focusing on writing, have you got broad music?

Speaker 3 19:08

Oh, definitely. I mean, I love pop music, so it's just so easy to listen to. So I think most people, you know, I'd be able to say, yes, you know, my favorites would align with theirs, you know. I love Taylor Swift, Halsey. There's just so many - Camilla Cabello is fantastic. I mean, I can pretty much listen to anything that's in that sort of pop genre.

Speaker 2 19:31

Sounds terrific and I'm really interested to hear how you listened to different music for your different characters. I reckon that's a really handy tip for those of our listeners who are working on their own novels to associate, to put into their character summaries this music, that music, and try that as an approach to writing. That sounds terrific.

Speaker 3 19:53

Thank you. Yes, it's it's a bit like acting really, because, you know, I mean, obviously, writing and acting, they are different. But in some ways, it's still about getting into the head of the character. And so, you know, if I'm acting, then I need to make sure that I'm correctly in the head of that character. I've got to think about their likes, their dislikes, you know, sometimes the way that you dress will help you get into character or the music you listen to. And I think that that crosses over with writing, particularly with with music side of things.

Speaker 2 20:21

And Alina, you have a bachelor's degree in psychology - and as we've said during the conversation, you're also an actor, model and public speaker. Would you tell us the story of what drew you to each of those areas to acting and modelling and public speaking and how they continue to give you inspiration?

Speaker 3 20:39

Sure. So I guess I'm clearly just, I love creative pursuits and I mean psychology was fantastic. I'm passionate about that as well. I'm very passionate about mental health and supporting people. I've done a lot of work sort of volunteering in schools. Recently I was volunteering through the Raise Foundation at Unley High School and that's really just sort of trying to increase wellbeing, you know, in the school system. So I was really interested in that. I was also interested in the sort of forensic psychology, criminology side as well. 

But I think, you know, my entire life has been about writing because that's what I've been doing my whole life. That's, that's my, if you want to wind down, you know, some people watch TV. For me, it's writing and I, you know, usually I, I feel like I can't sort of relax unless I've had some writing in that particular day. And so throughout my life, throughout high school and university, that's what I've been doing. So that was always just going to be a natural progression for me to pursue publication. In terms of modelling, I got into that when I was about 14, 15. I think I was signed with an agency at 15. I signed with Pride Models in Adelaide for a while with that. And then I've also done some modelling interstate as well. 

What I like about that is I think it's just, it's just so fun, you know, and I think again, that crossover with getting into character, it's almost like a bit of acting with modelling. I think you can just get into whatever brief or character they give you. And it's quite fun and creative. So I just love that creative side. And then with acting, I got a role in a Channel 31 sitcom in Melbourne, and that's how I got into acting from there. And that particular sitcom didn't actually end up going ahead. But as a result of that, I ended up getting some roles in Melbourne and Sydney. And I lived in Sydney doing acting for a little while over there and then came back to Adelaide, which has always been my my favourite place and my base.

Speaker 2 22:47

Brilliant. You mentioned before that you are working on other writings, so what can you tell us without giving away any spoilers?

Speaker 3 22:57

Well, I can say that I've written the sequel for the Order of Masks. I can't say the title. I can say it's, I think it's all right to say it's got, you know, something about crowns. It's going to be very much, it's going to just be very dramatic. It's a continuation of this story. It picks up pretty much right where the Order of Masks leaves off, which is, I've been told is a bit of a cliffhanger ending. So just fair warning for that, but yeah, I'm just very excited to share it with you. I think it's going to be basically everything you can expect from this book, but hopefully even more drama because, you know, obviously it's ending the duology on that book. So it's got to be just extra tense sort of scenes and drama.

Speaker 2 23:40

And maybe even a trilogy, or am I jumping too far ahead?

Speaker 3 23:44

Look, I think there's enough to make it a trilogy. I know my publishers are quite keen on a duology and I think duologies are so popular at the moment. So we'll see what happens. It's meant to be a duology for now and I can say that I have felt like book two does wrap it up enough that I can leave it there and I think it's really nice and tight. So the good thing about a duology means that for me, there's no filler book and I don't think I would ever have that in my writing because I like to just throw in so much into every book and so on. But the duology does mean that it's just really tight. Every single scene has to be there. Every single scene is advancing the plot and then it's wrapping up.

Speaker 2 24:28

To have your sequel already written by the time your debut novel is being published, which it is this week here in Australia, you are an incredibly prolific writer. I know you said that you write every day, but your output is phenomenal. You must really love it, as you say.

Speaker 3 24:49

Oh, no, I absolutely love it. And I started writing the sequel as soon as I got the two book deal because I had a window of time before I was going to start edits for the Order of Masks. And I just knew it was going to get really busy. And I thought, no, I've got to write book two. So I know it's done. And I just loved continuing the story so much. So no writing, it's an absolute passion. It doesn't feel like work at all. And I've also got some ideas for other projects that I want to be working on too. So we'll see once I'm done with edits for book two. Hopefully I can do that as well.

Speaker 2 25:22

Alina, we'd love to wish you all the very best for your launch, for The Order of Masks, for the forthcoming launch down the track of the sequel, and certainly we'll have you back to talk about that when that becomes available, and also for your writing in general. It's been lovely to speak with you. Our guest on Emerging Writers today was Alina Bellchambers, actor, model and public speaker, whose debut novel, The Order of Masks, is being released in Australia this month, September 2024, and in the UK in December this year.

This program can be heard at the same time each week here on Vision Australia Radio, VA Radio on Digital, online at varadio.org, and also on Vision Australia Radio podcasts, where you can catch up on earlier episodes.

Speaker 1 26:26

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Speaker 2 26:37

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