Creating a Whole New Fantasy Universe with Martha Carr

When Martha Carr approached me about writing in the new urban fantasy universe called Oriceran, I didn’t hesitate to say yes! Working with her and Michael Anderle is a wonderful learning experience and an absolute blast. I was naturally curious about how the whole thing came about, and Martha was kind enough to share her story with me. I hope you enjoy reading about her journey as much as I did. –A.L. Knorr

Dreams come true for me slowly, bit by bit, over time. I have an idea that something cool is rolling out but there are usually so many challenges up front that I can’t be absolutely sure. Some inner voice, though says, hang in there. Let go. Just keep going.

Starting the Revelations of Oriceran Universe, a cooperative for authors to write together inside of one large plot, with Michael Anderle, the visionary behind LMBPN Publishing, had every earmark of being one of these moments. Michael and I met just one year ago when I went to hear him talk about how he had managed to become successful at building an enormous, sustainable readership in fiction in less than a year. That’s supposed to be impossible.

Fifteen minutes into his talk I knew he was on to something. At the end of the talk, he said, “I’ll stay

Martha Carr & Michael Anderle

as long as anyone has questions.” Out of 90 authors in the room, only three of us went up to him. First thing I learned about Michael is his generosity and kindness are far-reaching and consistent and rare. He has given chances to people who didn’t know how to write but wanted to learn, as well as people like me who are longer in the tooth (I’ll be 58 on September 6^th), and aren’t the voice of a new generation.

You hear that a lot in this business like it’s a precious commodity. But with Michael, none of the precious things that are often used as a barricade to keep authors out like it’s an exclusive club were mentioned. The result is he has scooped up hidden gems left and right, people that were ignored by others, and built a publishing house that is new, innovative and building a massive, loyal audience.

To join in the fun and actually co-create a universe with him would take only a few very basic requirements. I had to want it, be willing to work for it and be willing to just do it his way. That last one is not his requirement – it was mine. I put aside those 30 years of publishing and started from scratch.

Eight months later, we have four titles out in The Leira Chronicles in the past 30 days. They’re funny, irreverent, full of magic and have characters that are strong, loyal and know how to go get the job done. And the readers are responding. In another week, two more authors will be starting their own series that will be in the same world of Oriceran and Earth, following the same rules but with their own characters. In October there will be two more. This type of world building is for the voracious reader who wants to immerse themselves into a different place and know there will be plenty of material for some time to come.

There are quite a few people doing this same type of structure but Michael has a few twists that make it a very different experience. He operates first on the premise that everything will be alright and everyone will succeed, including himself. Therefore, authors get a much bigger share and their name is on top. That’s unusual in most of these situations where it can look like one author suddenly wrote 30 books. And, he’s constantly looking for new ideas and then implementing them, which makes the artists and writers around him excited. They are encouraged to offer their other talents to the entire project. The result is a beehive of exciting activity.

Everyone thrives without the pressure to be the same. It’s a new kind of full-service publishing house that has been modified for the 21^st century and has a lot of the best traits of the indie world.

So, back to what I was saying about dream building. Here I am, co-creating this universe with Michael Anderle, working with some really good writers to help them create their vision, interacting with wonderful fans all over the world who share so much about their lives while I write about elves and trolls, a female detective who can do magic and a magical place called Oriceran. That’s a pretty big dream and far bigger and better than what I would have dreamed up on my own. That’s the way these things always are for me and they always show up the moment I let go of how it ought to look or what it ought to be. Like magic.