Introducing Stacey Bryan

Some time last year, I got an email from an author who'd just got a book accepted by my publisher Vagabondage Press. She wanted to ask a few questions etc, and we corresponded and it seemed rude not to invite her over for a cup of tea and slice of cake to celebrate the release of that book, Day for Night. So...

Welcome to my blog Stacey. Although we've been emailing for a while, I don't know much about you - so tell me a bit about yourself? And your book?

Stacey: Thank you for inviting me to your blog, Annalisa! I'm very happy to be here.

Hmm...let's see. Well, I was born in San Francisco but my family moved to Los Angeles when I was about five or six. I still miss San Fran and its atmospheric moodiness compared to the eternal yellow sun of L.A. I write about the annoying "beautiful weather" a lot, and I'm sure people who have to live in blizzard conditions would like me to shut up. I lived in New York for several years, where I met my husband in Brooklyn. He's also a writer. I haven't had a pet in at least 20 years, and I really miss having a cat.

My novel Day for Night is based on a short story I wrote several years ago that I had a lot of fun writing, so I extended it into a novel. It's about a wannabe actress in L.A. who stumbles upon an alien abduction taking place in the laundry room of her apartment building, and her life turns upside down from there. Then, worse, she discovers the world is populated with vampires also. In order to "fight back" against the aliens, she takes some extremely hard-core actions, making very important decisions while being dead drunk. It's all tongue in cheek and meant to be comical; it's how I would react if I suddenly discovered how paranormal the world really is.

A: So, do you have a plan for the zombie apocalypse?

S: I not only do not have a plan for the zombie apocalypse, I would probably be one of the first ones to be ambushed and consumed. No doubt I'd be reading my kindle somewhere, and one of them would just walk up behind me and tear my jugular out.

A: I'm not sure I'd be much use either! At least you'd be doing something you loved :-)

S: Yes, I might die with a smile on my lips!

A: Is this your first novel, or do you have lots of manuscripts squirrelled away under your bed/in the attic?

S: I have four other novels, but the first three were all hand-written during high school. I haven't even looked at them since then. I'm afraid of what I'll find. The fourth one, though, isn't too terrible; I wrote that one during college. It's about a girl with anorexia nervosa. My husband read it years ago and said it was one of "the most relentlessly depressing" things he's ever read. But he didn't say it was bad!

A: That's interesting because I'm working on a novel that was recently rejected on account of it being 'relentless depressing'. I'm trying to make it less so.

S: It's hard to do; when a topic isn't very cheerful, it's hard to "make it less" depressing somehow.

I guess Cormac McCarthy was famous enough to get "The Road" published, because from the minute you open that book to the day you close it, it's depressing beyond all understanding!

A: What was it about Day for Night that made you want to query it? And how long did you query before Vagabondage Press accepted it?

S: The short story Day for Night was quickly accepted and the editor said that everyone there loved it. I enjoyed writing it because it wasn't depressing, and this along with the magazine's response to the short story was enough encouragement for me to expand it into a novel and send it out.

My dreams ended very quickly once I began to query agents, though. I think I queried for over a year and received maybe two responses back, both of them positive, but ultimately saying, "But, uh...no thanks!" Eventually I gave up on agents and just queried publishers that accepted unagented manuscripts. Four accepted me within a three-month period compared to the year of no answers from agents.

A: Wow, FOUR. You have just made every single one of my readers (and me) jealous! Was there anything about the publishing process that you didn't anticipate?

S: You know, I haven't been surprised by anything. It's sort of gone the way I imagined, all of it. Except for the social media part. Even though I knew ahead of time that I'd be expected to help with marketing, it didn't prepare me for the depths of my incompetence in that area. I was basically "off the grid" until the publishing process. I wasn't even on Facebook anymore. I was on it years ago but it felt like opening a door to a dark room and having bats fly out at my face when people from the past would pop up and say hi. It's been a challenge readjusting my thinking in that area. But evidently, writers can't be hermits anymore these days!

A: I totally get that! What are you working on next?

S: I was working on a sci-fi story, but it's proven to be more difficult than I think I'm ready for right now. Hard-core sci-fi definitely is NOT my forte; I think you need to do it justice by being accurate and doing lots of research. And then I also read a lot of advice on the internet about sequels that said, basically, "You need to be writing your sequels...NOW." So the sci-fi is on a back burner while I map out Day for Night II or whatever it'll be called, and probably several more. It feels a little premature to me, like how can you start writing sequels when nobody's read the first book yet? It feels arrogant. But I guess preparation can't hurt. I'm probably over-thinking it.

A: I think writers have to be a little arrogant. We have to assume people want to read our work, or we wouldn't even get started! And finally, do you have any little rituals, foods, music etc that you need in place while you write?

S: I actually can't write with music playing, unless it's instrumental only, and very low in the background. I wish I had some elaborate and interesting rituals that I could tell you about like I have to be sitting high up in a tree during a lunar equinox with a pad and a special pen that a Tibetan monk gave me in order to write, but I don't. I just need quiet more or less, and a bag of potato chips will never be rejected!

A: Sometimes, simple is best! Thanks so much for joining me today, and good luck with your book.

S: Thanks for taking the time and having me on your blog, Annalisa. That was a lot of fun!

When reality TV star Rae Miller is kicked unceremoniously to the curb by her back-stabbing cast mates, she quickly realizes that revenge fantasies and unemployment are the least of her problems after she witnesses an alien abduction in broad daylight. Worse, after escaping a terrifying almost-abduction herself, Rae succumbs to a sexy Nosferatu’s silky assurances, becoming undead in order to up her alien Ultimate Fighting skills. Life is hard as a 38-to-40-something aspiring actress in L.A. Thank God for Jack Daniel’s and denial.

Vagabondage Press // Barnes&Noble // Goodreads // Amazon

Stacey was raised in the San Fernando Valley but born in San Francisco, where she left part of her heart. She has worked on a dude ranch, coached gymnastics, and captions for the hearing impaired. Her work has appeared in several literary magazines in New York and L.A., including Ginosko and The Rag. She is currently working on the sequel to her novel Day for Night. She lives in “beautiful downtown Burbank,” as Johnny Carson used to say, with her husband who is also a writer. Visit her at https://staceyebryan.wordpress.com

A chat with Sally Quilford

Today, I'm welcoming Sally Quilford to my blog, an amazingly prolific writer - the author of over 60 published short stories, and 15 pocket novels - who was one of my early blog contacts. And now she's launching her book The Secret of Lakeham Abbey. Phew - I think I need to lie down!

1)    Hi Sally. We met when you set up a blog challenge, 80k in 80 days. Can you remember what you wrote for that challenge, and what happened to it?

Do you know, I honestly can’t remember?  Now you’ve got me thinking. I think I wrote a pocket novel, but I can’t remember which one. It was a fun challenge, with lots of energy from those involved. It’s now become 100k in 100 days and it’s still very popular, even though we don’t always all manage to do it now. I hate to say it but sometime I write more between the challenges than during them…

2)    You've written short stories, 30k and 40k novellas, and now a novel - what's your favourite length to write?

Most of the novellas I write for My Weekly Pocket Novels are 50k now, so I’m used to that length. The Secret of Lakeham Abbey is actually a bit longer, at 55k. So not quite full novel length. Obviously 30k is great as it can be done fairly quickly. I’ve written 30k novellas in a week before now! But 50k allows for a bit more character development and plot. I do want to build up to full-length 80k novels. I have written one; a saga called The Steps of the Priory. But I’ve struggled to write that much. I’ve become so used to writing the shorter form.

That’s not a bad thing as there are so many publishers out there now, particularly ebook first publishers like Crooked Cat, who like shorter novels, because that’s what readers like. Shorter novels are ideal for e-reader devices and for our busier society.

3)    What was your inspiration to start writing and submitting?

My inspiration to start writing was just that I’d always wanted to have a go, but without ever really trying. Then, when I was 30 I went back to school to do a literature GCSE, and it opened the floodgates for me. I started writing then and haven’t looked back. It was so therapeutic, and lovely to be able to put all the dreams in my head down in writing.

I started submitting because there is no greater validation than having an editor say ‘Yes, I like that and I want to pay you money to publish it.’ Even now I get a thrill when I have work accepted. And even now I have a sick feeling in my stomach every time I submit something, fearing it won’t be good enough. That keeps me on my toes, and keeps me trying to improve my writing.

4)    Because I've got kids, people always ask me if I write children’s stories (I don't). You've got grandchildren, do you get the same question? And, you know... do you?

I do get asked that, along with questions like ‘Do you want to be the next JK Rowling?’ which is silly as there’s only one JK Rowling and she’s magnificent. I don’t write children’s stories, even though Percy Sullivan, the main character in The Secret of Lakeham Abbey, is a child. My granddaughter, Gracie, is always asking me to write a story about her and some unicorns, and I hate to admit to her that I just don’t have the right skills for writing a children’s story. All the children’s authors I know are just in tune with children and know just what makes them tick. I adore my grandchildren, but I’m not sure I know enough about the other children around them to write a convincing story that speaks to their age group. But I should do it for her, shouldn’t I? Just because she asked me…

The Secret of Lakeham Abbey Blurb

1948

When Percy Sullivan’s family take over Lakeham Abbey for the summer, it was a chance to get away from battered post-war London and be cossetted by the capable and pretty housekeeper, Anne Pargeter.

They soon learn that the Abbey conceals a dark secret; one that someone was willing to kill to hide. When Anne is convicted of murder and sentenced to execution, Percy is determined to do all he can to save his friend from the gallows.

He encourages everyone to tell their side of the story. This leads to some startling revelations, including a shocking secret that Percy’s mother tried to hide from him.

Will it be enough to save Anne’s life?

Check out Sally's blog for more info

Buy The Secret of Lakeham Abbey: Amazon UK // Amazon US // Smashwords  

And breathe...

Well, that was a busy few days!

New Shoes! Need socks!

I thought I knew what to expect, but I didn't.

Before I continue, I'd just like to say a huge thank you for all the comments - here, on Facebook and on Twitter. I couldn't keep up with commenting, but I read them all.

I was at work when the announcement press release went out from the Costa Book Awards team.

Half way through my shift, I received an email asking if I was available to be interviewed by the Guardian. Yes, I am! But I'm at work...

It's okay, I was told, they'd send an email. I rushed home, answered the questions put to me, and the article was up that afternoon. (You can read it here.) What you might notice is that I'm quoted quite a lot, and the other short listed authors aren't. I imagine we were all sent the same email, but I replied quickest.

The next day, while I was working out at the gym, I received an email asking if I was available to be interviewed live on BBC Radio Cornwall. I paused. Hmm... Radio is different to an printed interview. I have to speak, out loud, fluffed words and muddled thoughts and all. Yes, I am! I replied before I had chance to talk myself out of it.

Luckily, the radio host thought that day was a bit of a rush, so it was moved to the following day, yesterday. (I won't link here, because the link will only be valid for a month.) Of course, that meant I had longer to think about it, but enough time to calm down.

I haven't listened to it. I doubt I will. I dislike hearing my own voice. I don't sound the way I think I do. But that's not the point. The point is, I did it! Something I always panicked about. And it was all right - nothing bad happened.

Things I've Learnt This Week

• Say yes - people who don't know me heard me on the radio, they've seen my name in the paper (in a sub-heading, no less!), they may be moved to search out my books.
• Say yes, quickly - if I'd dallied on that email interview, one of the other authors might have got in first. Okay, replying to emails within five or ten minutes might seem needy and too eager, but to a journalist with a deadline it's vital.
• Say yes, even when you don't want to - in normal circumstances I would have probably run a mile from anyone suggesting a radio interview. But these aren't normal - by entering the competition I agreed to take part in promotion and marketing should I reach this far. Okay, they probably wouldn't have come after me with pitchforks if I refused, but I used that image to force myself into it. And next time, well... it won't be my first!

In short, say yes.

What have you said yes to recently?

Introducing Markie Madden

Please welcome Marguerite 'Markie' Madden to my blog. Markie is a diverse writer, and it's a pleasure to feature her today.

Markie, when did you first realise you were a writer?
I first remember writing creatively in grade school, maybe 4th or 5th grade. My teacher would come around and draw a squiggle on out notebook. The assignment was to use the squiggle to make a finished drawing and then write a story about it. 

You've written three very different books, how did they come about?
I never intended to write any non-fiction at all. But half a lifetime of living around supposedly knowledgeable horse people (whose animals often suffered neglect) inspired me to write Keeping a Backyard Horse. There are plenty of horse care books out there, sure. I even own quite a few. But the average horse owner, one who keeps their horse as a pet and for light riding, doesn't need to know how to breed horses or deliver a foal. So I wrote a very simple guide with very little terminology (and what's there is included in the glossary) that can be understood by most people. And my battle with cancer inspired me to write my memoir and my path to self-publishing, as a way of inspiring others with cancer and letting them know it's not the end of the line.

Do you prefer writing fiction or non-fiction?
I'd have to say I prefer writing fiction, though my two non-fiction books were rather easy, as I didn't have to research them heavily.

Do you have a typical writing day?
Since I'm still recovering from cancer, I don't have a typical day. I still have good days and bad days. Usually, I watch reruns of Supernatural and Bones on television every morning. I spend a lot of time on social media, marketing. I write when I feel like it, rather than forcing myself to. I avoid writer's block that way. Often, I'm still awake late into the night. I get more done when the house is quiet.

Do you have any rituals/special pens/certain music to get you into the writing mood?
I don't have any specific rituals for writing, actually! Although I do have a small plush horse a crafty friend in England sent to me. I met her in an online support group called MDJunction. Anyway, his name is Olaf, and he sits where he can watch me write. I think he's good karma.

Once you've finished writing for the day, how do you relax?
I don't really have to relax after writing, because I enjoy it so. But as a recent cancer survivor and a sufferer of fibromyalgia, I'm a hopeless insomniac. Sometimes my brain just won't shut up so I can sleep. Often, I use guided meditation MP3s on my phone to lull me to sleep.

Who are your favourite authors?
My favourite authors are Nora Roberts and her other self J.D. Robb, Patricia Cornwell, Kay Hooper, J.K. Rowling.

What are you working on at the moment?

I'm currently working on Triple Heist, a crime novel, and book one of a series called the Undead Unit, called Fang and Claw. Triple Heist involves Allison, head of security for the Federal Reserve bank, and her plans to rob millions from the facility. Fang and Claw takes place in a future time where creatures such as vampires, werewolves and zombies live and work among humans. Lacey is a detective with the Dallas police department, and has just been put in charge of an elite squad charged with investigating crimes involving the Undead. I hope to have Triple Heist ready for release next summer, Fang and Claw by next December. And I'm working on getting my books into audio format. My Butterfly Cancer should be ready for release next month.

Where to find Markie:

Twitter 

Facebook 

Blog 

Amazon 

Goodreads 

Website 

Still visiting other blogs

I was very excited on Wednesday when Our Beautiful Child reached the dizzy heights of #18 on the Amazin 'Gothic' rankings on Amazon. I had never considered my writing (or some of my writing) that way, but I like it!

The lovely Misha Gericke has invited me over for an interview - please visit her blog and say hi. Misha has recently opened up her blog for guest posts, so if you have an idea, let her know!


I'm sure there's more I should be sharing with you, but at the moment I'm trying to decide which Chinese takeaway dish to order and watching the build up to the next World Cup match.

Are you watching football?

Who are you supporting?

Or... what are you doing instead?

One Word Interview

Today I'm over on Notes from the Writing Chair, answering Angie Lofthouse's One Word Interview.

Hope to see you over there.

In other news (because two lines didn't seem much of a post):

• I've submitted a novel to a competition and a novella to a publisher. It all happened in a bit of a flurry last week, so even though I planned to move straight on to my next project, I've needed a couple of days' down time. 
• My F key isn't working properly, so I have to keep going back and putting the Fs back in.
• I found some money I was given for Christmas that I'd forgotten about, and now I get to find something to spend it on!

Don't forget to check out my interview here.

A chat with Teresa F. Morgan

Last week I visited Teresa F. Morgan's blog, and today she's popped in to see me.

Teresa has just released her debut book with Harper Impulse, so what better time to share her with my lovely blogger buddies.

So, Teresa, I first met you in May 2011 (I checked) via Sally Quilford's 80,000 Words in 80 Days... Been busy since then?
Wow, was that when we first met? Well, back in May 2011 I'd put my first book on hold, to let it rest and started writing my second book (current working title Perfect Isn't An Option) in the 80,000 words in 80 Days - great challenge! That first book is now called Plus One Is A Lucky Number and has been published by Harper Collins' imprint company Harper Impulse. I have a two book contract, so I'm currently trying to tidy up the second book - it needs editing and some additing - to send it off to them. I've had a few dramas in my life since May 2011, divorcing and moving house, so haven't been so busy on the writing as I'd like to be. Now I'm settled in my new house, I am hoping to get into a better routine with my writing.

How did that feel, having your book accepted after working on it for so long?

I guess I feel relieved... and I'm still pinching myself that I'm a published author!

I started writing Plus One for the Mills and Boon competition in 2010 (I think it was around September). I didn't get anywhere but continued writing the book. So it has taken me three years to get published, and I'm chuffed to bits. You hear a lot of writers never getting their first ever written novel published, and I have. I sent it out to publishers last year, but with no joy. When I heard about Harper Impulse, my book was still with the RNA New Writers' Scheme and I was awaiting a full critique back, but I sent it off anyway, wanting to grab the bull by the horns as it was a fairly new company. 

Did you ever consider self-publishing, or were you always heading towards a publisher?

For me, I always wanted to head towards a publisher. I feel rather new to the game, as I only started writing in 2006 and decided to do it professionally in 2009. I know that self-publishing works for some, but I think because I lacked confidence in my ability, (and still do!) and didn't want to be one of those writers who publish tripe (they do exist - seen it in the fanfic world!), I wanted my writing to be endorsed (is that the right word?) by a publisher - someone saying yes this woman can write! I think if it was 10 years down the line and I still hadn't been published, then I might have done it just to get my book out there, lol! But at first I wanted to try the 'traditional' route.

What's next?

Book two - Perfect Isn't An Option. I really want to get this off to my publisher so I can write my third book! I think the only way I'm really going to get back into the swing of writing again, is to write. Editing is very hard to get motivated over... well, for me it is.

Is your writing career how you imagined it?

At the moment, no! I would love to be spending afternoons in Costa brainstorming, days out researching, hours reading then writing in my study (which I no longer have), but instead, it's very much the same as before. I'm running around after two boys, trying to keep on top of some of the housework and having to do the part time jobs which keep me afloat with a regular income. lol! When I do get to do writing, I've now got a desk in the corner of my lounge. One day, if I can give up the part time jobs, and have an office/study where I can go write - shutting the door to the outside world, that will be lovely. I've eyed up my son's bedroom to become my study, but because he's six I think I have a long time to wait. All depends on how clean he keeps his bedroom... otherwise I might convert it sooner rather than later!

About Plus One is a Lucky Number:

Sophie’s going to a wedding where the invite is strictly plus one… but with her single girl status not exactly fitting in with the bridesmaid dress code, and the best man being none other than the ex she would rather forget, Sophie needs a date and she needs one fast!

Luckily for Sophie, her dreamy but distant co-worker Adam Reid owes their mutual friend James big time…and his gorgeousness more than fills the role of the ‘Perfect Boyfriend’!

As they take off to the sunny shores of Cornwall for the wedding weekend, it’s not long before pretence leads to passion and Sophie and Adam must decide; is their relationship real or is it all for show?

Teresa lives in sunny Weston-super-Mare, trying to hold onto her Surrey accent where she was born and bred.

For years she persevered with boring jobs, until her two boys joined the nest. In an attempt to find something to work around them, and to ensure she never endured full time boredom again, she found writing.

Teresa is at her happiest baking cakes, putting proper home cooked dinners on the table (whether the kids eat them or not), reading a good romance, or creating a touch of escapism with heroes readers will fall in love with.

You can find Teresa here:

Blog / Website / Twitter / Facebook

Add on Goodreads

I'm visiting Teresa

I know you're not used to me posting everyday, but this is just a quickie to say I'm being interviewed over on Teresa Morgan's The Wittering Woman blog today.

Teresa has recently published an ebook with Harper Impulse, Plus One is a Lucky Number...

Click here to visit Amazon UK

Teresa will be here next week to talk about her new book.

I'm visiting Rebecca Bradley!

It's no secret I love talking about myself, so when Rebecca Bradley asked if people wanted to talk about themselves on her blog, I jumped at the chance. You can read the interview here and find out all about my first drafts.

I'm not here, I'm there

Today I'm over at the fabulous Tammy Theriault's blog. Next month I'm blog touring with That Sadie Thing, and this is a tour preview to whet your appetites.

Tammy's also going to be selecting a random blogger from the comments to win a free copy - so if you've already got a copy, be sure to tell her!

Another interview? Me? Oh all right then...

I've been interviewed over at The Dan O'Brien Project. Find out whether I've ever been in trouble with the police, who I'd like to have play me in a film of my life and when my autobiography will be out! The post went up yesterday, so I hope Dan won't mind me linking to it a little bit late.

Dan has a Kickstarter project that he's trying to get off the ground, so once you've popped over for the interview, come back and pop over here as well.

The Pasty Tour!

Today I'm interviewing Marjie Myers, a brand new author who's just launched her first book, Twelve Days/Young Eighty.


The Blurb
12 Days

A romantic comedy; a man, a woman, a dog, a challenge, romance, laughter, memories, love & hope.
Young 80 A horror; a young woman, a foggy night, a race home, trapped, scared, confused, crazy, an old woman, an empty room, a lost love and hope.




Welcome to my blog, Marjie. An easy one to start with, tell us a little bit about yourself...
haha! Thats easy?

Marjie Myers is my pen name & my actual name is Kate...well Katy and I have a blog, The Suddenly Kate Show, which is a year old this month. I am often described as 'Bubbly' which I strongly dislike but is a true description and I have a kitten Muse.

Congratulations on your blogaversary! How long have you been writing? Why did you start? 

Thanks. I have been writing for about 6 months and I started on a whim last September. Up until then I had been writing music and travel reviews, two of my other loves, and I think it was a poem that started it all, that became flash fiction and then the rest they say is history.

I'm curious about the book you've just released. The two stories seem very different - what made you put them together?

I'd like to say that I carefully considered the decision and the relationship between stories but in reality I thought it would be nice, a kind of sweet and sour, a pasty if you will and hence the tour name. Reflecting on the choice I can see that both stories have the same key themes running through them of Love and Hope.

Ah, 'pasty', I knew there'd be a reason for the name :-) What inspired these stories? Did you hear or see something, or did you just wake up one day with them running around your head?

12 Days was written because every year I read a romantic comedy at Christmas. I love Christmas and so instead of reading one I decided to write one. I sat down with the idea to write a rom-com at for Christmas and then went from there.

Young 80 was inspired by a Halloween flash fiction challenge which I had wanted to expand on. The idea for that came from my own experience of walking home in the dark combined with some fears.

Generally, I just sit down to write and go from there, my ideas are often inspired by a real life scene, emotion or character. But in these cases it was simply Christmas & Halloween.

Do you have any writing rituals that you've developed over the last 6 months?

I don't know...i've not really thought about it...erm, not yet.

Lol... just wait... every writer has weird rituals eventually! What are you working on next?

I have the NaNoWriMo novel that needs retuning as it were as its still in its very raw stage. But I know I wont be happy with that alone, I still have my weekly series which is ongoing and then there are the music reviews, the flash fiction, the A to Z Challenge and I am keen to work on a sci-fi story that I began as a Write for Ten piece, I want to know where it leads and what happens and....I think you can be sure the list is endless but this is the next few months.

That sounds fantastic. Who are your favourite authors? Are there any you aspire to be compared to?

Currently, Barbara Kingsolver & Gabriel Garcia Marquez & Leon Uris & Phillip M Margolin & Tom Clancy & Robert Kirkman but there are so many good writers, it depends on genre too and what way the wind is blowing! I like Hardy, Dickens, & Conrad.

I like all the above writers for quite different reasons, some its style, some its story, some its combination but to be compared to anyone who writes from the heart is good enough in my book. The first person who came to mind when I read that was Maeve Binchy because she was prolific and also her books are easy to get cosy with and pleasurable.

Some great names there. Finally, is there any advice you wish you'd been given 6 months ago - either writing or blogging related?

Blog related: That lack of comments doesn't mean that no-one is reading it (especially in the case of music reviews) and ultimately you should write what makes you happy. Your blog is for you.

Writing related: That its a drug..Class A.

Thanks for visiting today, Marjie - it's been great talking to you.

Finding Marjie/Kate:

Facebook

Twitter: Marjie Myers (writing only) or @Tsk_Show
Goodreads
Blog: The Suddenly Kate Show
YouTube
Soundcloud 

(This post has been scheduled. I'm taking a brief sabbatical - in fact, it'll probably be so brief that you won't even notice, but it means I might not get around to replying to comments on this post for a couple of days. Apologies to anyone who stopped by my blog yesterday for the Movie bloghop and left a message - I took the post down and didn't replace it due to circumstances beyond my control.) 

Author Interview - Ailsa Abraham

Today I am excited to introduce Ailsa Abraham to my blog. I met Ailsa quite recently through a Facebook group, and I find her very fascinating. She interviewed me on her blog here, so today it's my turn to provide the tea and biscuits, and a very large box of chocolates that my kids bought me!

Welcome to my blog, Ailsa. Your latest book, Shaman’s Drum has just been released. Congratulations. Can you tell us a little bit about it?

Sure thing. It's a pagan-based romance/fantasy. Set in the near future when the mainstream religions of today have been banned in an effort to stamp out terrorism, the “Old Religions” (paganism in all its forms) have taken over.

Iamo is a priest of the Great Mother (equivalent to Wicca) and in a previous adventure he fell in love with Riga, a woman who is a magical assassin, a Black Shaman. The rules forbid them being together so at the beginning of Shaman's Drum they are both in prison.

Iamo is offered a deal that could buy not only their freedom but the chance to marry. To do this they will have to solve a mystery, defeat demons and overthrow rebel cultists who want to take over the world.

In the end they find themselves unsure of who is on their side so they call on a very mixed bunch of helpers including hippies, eclectic pagans, an undercover Christian Granny and three very enthusiastic Goths.

Where did you get your inspiration for that?

That was just completely weird! I have been a pagan all my life, finally ending up as a practising Shaman but I was just sitting in my back garden when the first scene of the book flashed into my head, rather like the trailer to a film.  I saw a woman in a nun's outfit being rescued from a convent cloistered garden by a man in a monk's habit.

Well, wouldn't you want to know more? So when Jessica Macbeth, a dear friend and mentor bullied me into entering NaNo in 2011, that was the obvious story to pursue. I finished it and then after a lot of work and polishing, Stephanie Patterson at Crooked Cat published it.

I suppose the book was very easy for me because my background is purely pagan but I have studied most of the world's major religions too. I'm on nodding terms with Buddhism, Christianity, Druidism etc and so it was good fun for me to put the monotheistic religions out of the scene and see what would happen.

Is it possible to explain paganism and Shamanism to me in a few sentences…?

I'll try. Paganism usually involves the worship of various gods and goddesses. It comes from the Latin “pagani” meaning “of the countryside. Neo-paganism, which is what we see becoming more popular today, has sub-divided into groups that seek back for their roots in various mythologies of the past. Odinists (otherwise known as Heathens or Norse) go back to the Vikings. Druidism, while mainly based on some writings discovered in the eighteenth century and proven to be fake, claim to reach back to antiquity. Isis of the Egyptians, The Roman pantheon, many have been revived. Wicca, which is the most common form of paganism is in fact an invention of the 1950s but has grown at such a rate that many adherents now would defend to the death that this is based on solid fact handed down through generations.

Shamanism has existed throughout history from neolithic times. It is animist and believes that everything has a spirit. There is one great sacred spirit and all other spirits are connected to it. A Shaman learns to journey into the the three worlds – lower, middle and upper. Their constant companions are a power animal and a spirit guide which find them early on in their training. Whatever “magic” a Shaman is going to work is called a “journey” and starts by going to the appropriate world. For example if a friend of mine were ill in THIS (the middle world) I might “journey” to their house to bring spirit healing to them.

Both are fascinating subjects and can be studied endlessly.

This isn’t your first book, is it? And I believe a gentleman called Cameron gets involved too?

Hahahah – no, that's true. I started writing detective fiction where my two heroes are gay. So obviously the books got labelled as “gay erotica” which annoys me more than a little because, for example, the last one, Cancel Christmas, was a thumping good murder mystery where the two investigators hopped into bed together. Had that been on  TV on a Sunday evening and the detectives were heterosexual it would not have raised an eyebrow.

Now, however, as the reading public for the two genres is so different, I write under two names and Cameron Lawton has become my (gay) twin brother and I'm actually very fond of him. We have disagreements on Facebook and he sometimes steals “my” style to write things on our joint blog but I love him really.  The fact is that I did have a twin brother who was still-born and so maybe bringing Cameron into the family has balanced things up a bit. I just wish he wouldn't object to me stealing his expensive aftershave!

How do you balance writing such different genres? Do you alternate, or wait for inspiration to strike whichever genre it wants to?

My real problem is too much inspiration! I never have enough time to write down what I have thought of. Yes, I suppose I do tend to go through phases. It rather depends which characters are kicking me hardest (or which editors)  It just seems that when I am writing “my boys” I have my Cameron head on and when I'm writing magic; then I have my Ailsa head on. I have been known to write both in one day without ever getting the two mixed up.

The thing is that my two detectives are hardly likely to run into my magical characters or vice versa. Problems could arise if I DO ever bring the boys over here. I would find them intruding into my “real” life!

How do you organise your writing day?

Simple answer? I don't! I am possibly the world's most disorganised person. As I no longer go out to work (I'm an invalid) I have all day every day to write. Which, of course, means I don't. I find every reason in the world not to and then I get up at 2am and go like the clappers to get something finished.

I also suffer from Bipolar Condition which means that some of the time I am curled up in a ball and not wanting to come out. That's not very conducive to writing but at other times when I am on a manic high, I can write for 15 hours a day which gives me tendonitis …. I'm a bit of a mess really (laugh).

Some great minds – now and throughout history – have had bipolar/depressive issues. Do you think one breeds from the other?

I discussed this at great length with my psychiatrist and he agreed that it does tend to be a very beneficial side-effect of the condition although, unlike some famous cases (such as Stephen Fry) I have agreed to be medicated without losing my creativity. Some are in such fear of not having the creative highs that they will not take medication. I felt that whatever I lost (and to be honest I do not think I have lost anything) was worth it for the relief my family felt when I stopped trying to commit suicide on a regular basis.

You live in France, does that have a detrimental effect on your writing career, or has it brought lots of benefits?

Oooh that's a hard one! I think being bilingual helps me explore language more. I'm an incurable people-watcher and in my village there isn't much else to do so a lot of that has crept into my writing.

Physically it is really frustrating because I want to join Associations, go to meet-ups and generally get together with other writers, which would be fine if I lived in London but if you add the six hours (plus fuel) it takes me to get to Dunkirk and the ferry fare and all the travelling in Britain, it becomes a non-starter and I have had to limit myself to one or two trips a year by train.

I would absolutely love to write a book based in the village where I live in France, possibly a detective novel. Maybe I will bring my “boys” over here on holiday and Cameron can have fun taking them around the countryside and meeting the local characters … including that funny Scotswoman who rides a motorbike and writes books!!!! Whooo – now I am meeting myself coming back!

You’re bilingual – have you written, or would you consider writing, a book in French?

No! Never! While I can speak French fluently and translate from French to English with no problem, I cannot write in the convoluted past-historic, subjunctives and other grammatical forms that are needed to write in French. All my friends keep saying they wish I would but, to be honest, they would buy the books only because they know the author. Whether they would read them or not.... is another matter.

Which published book(s) do you really wish you’d written?

Any of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books featuring the Witches. I do humour in real life but I just do not seem to be able to do it in prose. Most people who know me say I have a “wicked sense of humour” but that only slightly comes out in Shaman's Drum through little asides that Riga the Black Shaman makes.

I'd really love to have written anything as side-splittingly funny as Witches Abroad and yes, I am Nanny Ogg even though Sir Terry doesn't know me – I have been asked if I were the prototype for her; Unfortunately not!

What are you working on at the moment?

Too much! Like a total twerp I went and wrote Shaman's Drum and then realised that it was Book Two and Book One is now WIP. Everyone wants to know what happened, how the major religions got banned, why Riga and Iamo were in prison etc, so I am working on that very hard.

Cameron is on Book Three of his series in the Military Police which is going to be much more light hearted; The last one was very serious and quite gruesome in places so this time we are going to let the boys have some fun as well as investigating a crime.

There are two more works on the back-burner (including the one set in my village where I might just get to murder my husband fffnnarrrr!!!) The other is an adventure novel featuring a trans-sexual Female to Male which is not a sexual orientation that features very highly. One publisher has expressed an interest but my problem is TIME!!!!

Wow, that’s a lot of work! I won’t keep you much longer. Where can we find you and your books? 

Goodreads: Shaman's Drum, Cancel Christmas, Yours to Command
Website: Ailsa Abraham
Amazon Author's Page

Thanks again, Ailsa, it's been great talking to you!

About Ailsa Abraham
Celt by birth, now living in Eastern France. Has had more jobs than she can remember but retired due to ill health so can now concentrate on writing full time.Having followed a pagan path all her life, Ailsa writes novels that feature this with huge helpings of adventure and romance. What she does NOT write is the usual "dungeons and dragons" or "willowy teenage witches" stories.In her village she is a shaman and healer but finds time to knit, cook and collect an unfeasibly large number of homeless teddy bears. Her pets have included a bat, ferrets, and a raven as well as the more usual domestic ones. Her only ambition is to continue writing and perhaps return to the UK to live one day.

I'm being interviewed

Today I'm over at Elizabeth Seckman's blog, Use Your Words... She asked me some probing questions, and I rambled for a while... That's an interview, right?

But it's tied in to my new book, which is why I've used it as an excuse to put the cover up again!

(I'm still working my way through ISWG posts, so if I haven't been round to yours yet, I'll get there after work!)

Bits and pieces, and the Man Booker Prize 2012

Today I'm really excited to be featured on The Writing Nut, answering Nutschell's great questions and sharing what I look like in a bridesmaid's dress! Please pop over and take a look - at the interview, not just the dress.

I've also got a couple of new stories up on the Alfie Dog Fiction site from today, if you fancy popping along there too.

The Man Booker Prize
It was the Man Booker Prize last night. Hilary Mantel won for a second time - the first British author to win twice - so it was a great achievement for her. I haven't read either of her winning novels, and I actually had my fingers crossed for Alison Moore. In general I'm not overly keen on historical fiction, because I spend far too much time wondering which bits are fact and which bits have been made up. I know I should just read the story as I would any other novel, but I can't. Maybe it's time to give historical fiction another chance?

What do you think of the winner? Have you read the book? Who were you hoping to win?

Been camping

Almost as soon as I wrote the last post about my goals, we packed up for a couple of days of camping. Wet camping... wet and dull, in my sleeping bag by 9pm because it was so wet and dull camping. Please tell me you've had camping trips like that! I really don't want to be the only one. Except, I know I wasn't - there was a field full of other weirdos who thought camping in England in August would be a great idea!

One of my goals, you might remember, is to avoid the internet two days a week. Having coming back from camping and only having my mobile to keep in touch (not very easily, because I find it awkward to comment and reply to emails), I've come back to loads of blog comments, loads of emails... At least I know that my two days should not be consecutive.

So, that explains why I haven't replied to any of your comments from the previous post. I'm off to do that now. But first I wanted to draw your attention to Misha Gericke's blog where she interviews me. In fact, we did a double interview with each other at the same time, which was great fun. I posted the interview I did with Misha a little while ago, but it's here if you want another look.

Are you nuts like me, and go camping even when every fibre of your body tells you you're daft?

Friday interview with Amy Cockram

Photo credit: Deirdre McCulloch

I met Amy during A Levels - the girl who always had her nose in a book, and relished English lit essays. She now reviews books at her blog Stuff and Nonsense, which seems such an obvious step! I thought it might be fun to hear what goes on in the head of a book reviewer when they've got their hands on your book!

At school, I remember you were a voracious reader. At what point did you decide to write reviews and create a blog?

I spent most of my adult life being a student, and after that I wanted to relax for a while and read what I wanted. What started as relaxation became stagnation, and I decided I needed a challenge and somewhere to write. So I started a blog without, at first, an idea of what it would be about. It evolved quite quickly into being about what I was reading and my relationship with books because books are quite possibly the thing I love most in the world after my husband, my family, my friends and my cat. Oh, and chocolate.

Chocolate goes without saying on this blog. Do you review all the books you read, or do you choose the ones you’ve got most to talk about?

When I decided that the blog would be about what I was reading, I decided to write something about every book I read - which means even things that I felt a little bit ashamed of reading. I wanted it to be a complete and honest record of my reading. I decided that I would either write a blog post or, if I felt like I didn’t have much to say about a book, a pithy tweet.

What is your favourite genre, and do you read outside that for the purposes of reviewing?

I read crime novels most of all and, within that, I prefer the mystery and detection element to a straight thriller. There are some blogs out there that specialise in reviewing crime, and do that excellently, but I like to move between genres. If I feel like I have read a few similar books in a row, then I like to switch to reading in a different genre for a while.

I also have a bad multi-reading habit, so I am usually read more than one book at once, normally from different genres. I like to read something more literary alongside something for pure entertainment and switch between them.

Who’s your favourite author, and why?

I have a few favourite authors who I collect in hardback: for pure entertainment value Terry Pratchett or Janet Evanovich; for something a bit more challenging, Michael Ondaatje and Howard Jacobson.

If I have to pick a favourite, it would probably be Howard Jacobson. I discovered his writing when I was in my early 20s, long before he won the Booker. He’s everything that I want in a writer: passionate, articulate, thoughtful, funny and frequently a little bit filthy. He is a great chronicler of male middle-aged angst, and more than any other man he is probably responsible for my twisted view of the male psyche.

Which book would you recommend everyone to read at least once?

I don’t read short stories very often, but I love The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. Tim O’ Brien was a soldier in the Vietnam War, and most of his writing refers back to the war to a greater or lesser extent. I don’t tend to like war writing in general, so please don’t be put off the book if you also think that you don’t like war writing. There is an element of black humour in some of his writing, but also moments of great insight and tenderness amidst the violence.

If you don’t want to read the whole collection, just read How to Tell a True War Story. It’s a brilliant piece of writing.

Do you read other people’s reviews to compare them with yours?

I try not to, as it only tends to make me feel less confident. I felt a few months ago that my blog was starting to feel a bit samey, and I read a book (Lars Kepler’s The Hypnotist) that I didn’t feel sure about. I didn’t know what to write, so I made the mistake of looking up other reviews and only ended up more conflicted and less sure of myself. Since that experience, I might read reviews by other people out of curiosity after I have posted a review but I would try to avoid reading them before. In theory it is a good idea of read other reviews because you can learn from other people, but in practice it just gives me reviewer envy.

You’ve mentioned on your blog that publishers are sending you books to review. How did that come about? (I assume large publishers don’t just send books out randomly!)

If you love reading, then Twitter is a great resource. I follow quite a lot of publishing houses, and it is a good way to get information about new books that are being published. Through their tweets I found that there are some publishing houses who keep records of book bloggers and will send out review copies, so I sent them my details. Twitter is a good place for a book addict to make friends and find book gossip and competitions.

And finally, some of my followers have had bad experiences with either one-star reviews and no explanation, or bad reviews aimed personally at the author rather than the book. Is that the mark of a bad book or a bad reviewer?

I personally rarely write a bad review - mainly because I decided that my bookshelves are too overstuffed and my life too short to read everything, so I no longer force myself to finish something if I’m not enjoying it. I’m very aware that a work of fiction doesn’t spring from nowhere; it is created by another human being who has put a lot of time and effort into what they have made, and I have a great respect for that act of creation. So I would never want to write something which the author might feel hurt by.

I’m inclined to think that a one star review with no explanation or, even worse, a personal attack on the author probably says more about the reviewer than it does about the book itself. Of course not everyone will like the same things, but it is disrespectful to condemn a book as being a one star read and not be able to constructively justify why you didn’t rate it higher. No-one likes to hear criticism - I know I take it very badly - but it is even worse to be dismissed with no explanation. I can think of absolutely no justification for directing an attack at the author: it achieves nothing, and certainly wouldn’t help someone reading the review decide if it is a book in which they might interested.

You make a really good point about the reviews being aimed at helping readers choose books not for writers to sell more!

And with that, thank you Amy for visiting my blog today – I’ve found it really interesting to see books from another point of view, and I hope my visitors have as well!

Unfortunately, Amy is currently snowed under with books to read, and cannot accept books for review.