Author Interview with Frances Kay
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Author Interview with Frances Kay
Hi Frances, and Welcome.
What are your books about and what inspired you to write it/them?
Dollywagglers was written as a stand-alone picture of a society in meltdown. It’s as real as I can make it, so although it is a fictional dystopia, I hope the themes will resonate with readers, especially those who are familiar with England, where the story takes place. I’m working on a sequel, because I realised that there was still so much story to tell. My earlier book, Micka was published in 2010 and is a realistic, hard-hitting story about life seen through the eyes of two unhappy ten year old boys.
How long did the first book take to write and how many times did you go through it before it was finally done?
It took more than ten years. I revised it during that time, maybe six or seven times. The sequel took eight months!
Where do your settings come from? Are they taken from real places, made up entirely, or a conglomerate of the two?
Oh, real! :London and East Anglia are locations I’ve lived in. I was born in London. The Suffolk settings are based on my experience of living there for thirteen years. Micka was based on my experiences working with the poorest families and children in Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Who is your favorite character and why?
This is the hardest question I’ve ever been asked! As a playwright, I create characters who each have their own motivations and personalities, but the task is always to empathise with each one, to present their viewpoint to the audience as persuasively as possible, no matter how villainous or dishonest. I’m quite proud of my evil, depraved villain in Dollywagglers, as he is at the other extreme of behaviour from me. I had to get inside his horrible head, and not be afraid of what I saw there. For potential readers, this monster is called Rodney. In Micka, I chose to write in the voices of two ten year old boys, again, these are totally different voices from mine. The challenge was to tell the story only through the two of them, in such a way that adults would be gripped.
Did you change direction at any point or was it all plain sailing?
With Dollywagglers, I always knew I wanted to write a swingeing critique of our society. Dystopias are a splendid way of using metaphor. I did not realise quite how much my main character, Billie, needed to change before the end of the book. For Micka, it was about giving a voice to children that society never acknowledges. Their voices are never heard. When they speak, you may not like what they are saying.
Are you an outliner or a pantzer when it comes to start a book? If the latter, do the ideas come to you in one big lump, or are they piecemeal?
I wrote these books as I write all my novels – I write the scenes, the moments, that I feel most passionate about, and when I have enough of the patchwork I stitch it all together until you can’t see the joins. I do this because it’s more fun – my approach to playwriting is disciplined and way more structured. I guess I know the rules of drama. I make sure I have plenty of realistic drama in my fiction too. I never worry about the opening of the novel until it comes, usually by itself.
Finally, where can the book be purchased and what are your plans for the next ones?
You can order it from your local bookshop! That would be my preference. Or ask your library to get a copy. I buy lots of books on Amazon and you can find mine on the UK and US sites, along with a short story published as an ebook this year, which is called Strange Creation.
The link for Dollywagglers at all local Amazons. http://bookShow.me/B00JYGG58W
Here are the blurs for Fan’s books.
STRANGE CREATION [pub 2015]
Dr Dorothy Broadhurst, a biologist, is living in 1950s Central Africa to study the local ape population. When civil war erupts and the rest of her team flees, she’s left alone in the jungle. Dorothy may think she understands the apes she has studied for so long, but she could never have predicted what they do next . . .
DOLLYWAGGLERS [pub 2014]
After the plague, most of us are dead, and some of the survivors aren’t behaving very well. But we can still have a laugh, can’t we? Letting go is for softies. I’m alone – delightfully and comfortably alone. I don’t do crying…
That’s the wonky philosophy of Billie, a dollywaggler on a far from sentimental journey. The Eppie – a worldwide flu pandemic – has left London with nothing but a few beastly survivors with appallingly unwholesome habits. Watch out for Rodney; he is particularly nasty. Oh, and don’t try to escape the madness by fleeing to the country – things may be even worse out there. Besides, a greater intelligence is planning to identify and control the living remnants nationwide, as order begins to be restored. It’s time to find out who the real dollywagglers are.
MICKA [pub 2011]
Micka loves drawing and wants a pup, but with older brothers into violence and petty crime, and a mother who can’t read the notes his teacher sends home from school, neither he nor the pup stand much of a chance.
Then a new boy, Laurie, starts at Micka’s school. The two boys both have vivid imaginations, but Laurie’s fantasies are of magic and revenge, and he soon pulls Micka into a dangerous game where the line between make-believe and real life — and, ultimately, death — is increasingly blurred.
Written in direct, uncompromising yet compassionate prose, and with a breathtaking clarity of insight, Micka is an astonishingly assured debut — and an unforgettable story.
My five star review of Dollywagglers on the Amazons.
This is a thrilling dystopean story with a twist. Billy, the main character, is large and shambling, a disguise to hide her sex, a necessity to avoid attack. There is no longer any protection of law for anyone and so she does the best she can with the chaos that is now her life.
All is not dark as there are flashes of brilliant wit throughout this. Billy tries to live her life according to her own standards of behavior, irrespective of the choices others have made. She works towards a goal, despite setbacks. This is a deep look at what happens when society fails through misfortune and how it affects people. Billy, despite her outward appearance, is a character one can cheer on in the course of the story. Loved this. Wonderful read.
The link for Dollywagglers at all local Amazons. http://bookShow.me/B00JYGG58W
Interview with Joel Cornah, author of The Sea Stone Sword
Interview with Joel Cornah, author of The Sea Stone Sword
Hi, and Welcome Joel Cornah. Would you like to begin by telling the readers something about yourself?
I’m a dyslexic Lancastrian who somehow found himself writing epic fantasy and getting published. I am also a writer and editor for The Sci-Fi and Fantasy Network which has me hopping up and down the country talking to people who were in Doctor Who on camera. I’m a member of the Tolkien Society, a drinker of tea, and I run a bookshop / cafe in Parbold village near Wigan, Lancashire.
What are your books about and what inspired you to writethem?
My first novel, The Sea-Stone Sword, is about a boy named Rob Sardan who wants to become a hero, but he gets it all completely wrong. The story is set in a world I created growing up telling stories to my younger siblings; it is filled with dinosaurs, dragons, penguins and more besides. There is a quest, a Pirate Lord, and a magic sword that slowly but surely breaks the wielder and makes them into its tool.
I have two supplementary stand-alone novellas as well. The Spire of Frozen Fire tells the story of Jareth Sea-Splitter, a pirate who travels to the gigantic prison of ice and crystal, south of south, the needle of the world. There she seeks secrets and answers, but finds something she did not expect.
The Silent Helm is my latest novella. It is the story of Eimhir, a young girl who has lived her life relying on silence, stealth, and secrets. But when she meets a community of human-dragon hybrids known as draigs she discovers a people who live their lives defined by war; those who run from it, and those who embrace it. She must chose to break her silence to save lives, or else be broken by it.
Next year I hope to have the next full novel, The Sky Slayer, out and ready for the world!
How long did the first book take to write and how many times did you go through it before it was finally done?
The Sea-Stone Sword was originally a side project. I had been working on a much longer story called The Dinosaur Prince, and one of the characters, Rob Sardan, had an interesting history. I wanted to write about his backstory and made notes on it. I’d been writing The Dinosaur Prince for about seven years on and off, but when I sat down to write The Sea-Stone Sword, it took me about three months to get the first draft done. I edited it multiple times and it was about a year before it was ready for publishers to look at. When Kristell Ink said yes it was the most amazing moment of my life and I hope the book does well just as a thank you to them if nothing else!
Where do your settings come from? Are they taken from real places, made up entirely, or a conglomerate of the two?
Much of the world was created over years and years. There are certainly aspects from the real world that worked their way in – I think bits of Finland are dotted about as well as some of the grimier and gray parts of northern England. But as much of it is set at sea, I think I took some inspiration from Liverpool’s tall ships which I saw regularly at university, and probably remember some vague nautical things from my childhood growing up near Southport.
Who is your favorite character and why?
I loved the character Eimhir! She came out of nowhere! I had not planned to put her in the story and I don’t know where she came from. I just had this quiet little girl who was able to slyly and silently make the world work to her advantage. She has such an interesting psychology and it’s probably a reflection of myself in some awful ways. She has suffered a lot of abuse and cruelty, but has come out of it so much kinder, and loving, though she may mask it and try and push those feelings away. I like to have characters who subvert expectations, and she certainly does for me!
There’s a new character in The Sky Slayer who is also becoming one of my favourites to write. She just has all the best lines – all the sarcastic and cutting jibes you wish you could say in real life but can’t because you’re too polite. Watch out for Alya Kadir.
Did you change direction at any point or was it all plain sailing?
Generally I have a good idea of where the plot is going so there are rarely moments where I change direction wildly. Details change and I may meander around a bit but usually end up where I wanted to get to.
Are you an outliner or a pantzer when it comes to start a book? If the latter, do the ideas come to you in one big lump, or are they piecemeal?
Like I said, I know where the story is going. I don’t usually plan out meticulously. I approach writing a lot like playing chess against yourself, where you’re playing both the protagonists and the antagonists (and everyone in between). Everyone has their goals, everyone has their style, and everyone has their strategy. Each character has their own ‘checkmate’ in mind, but you also realise that if things work out in certain ways, they may have to settle for a stalemate. I usually know what the antagonist is trying to achieve and how they are going to do it, so it’s a case of finding a way for the protagonists to move against them and work out what’s going on.
Sometimes, I will realise that one character hasn’t been playing chess at all – they’ve been playing poker, and they have an ace up their sleeve.
But then my analogy starts to break apart and become incomprehensible.
I tend to write with themes in mind and that helps shape the story and the characters. The theme of The Sea-Stone Sword was stories, heroes, and villains. A lot of it revolves around those ideas and different interpretations of them. As things come to mind, I write them, but it’s all centred around a framework and theme.
Finally, where can the book be purchased and what are your plans for the next ones?
They’re all available from good bookshops, (and no doubt some bad ones too). Smashwords, Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes and Noble, and Book Depository.
http://kristell-ink.com/out-now/the-sea-stone-sword/
The next book, The Sky Slayer, will hopefully be out next year. It is the story of Rob Sardan’s next adventure. The Sky Slayer’s curse is upon him, and the only way to break it is to escape from the dreaded prison at the end of the world. To do so, he will need the help of an aging doctor, a failed thief, a former pirate, and a strategist who simply cannot be trusted.
Thank you so much for having me on here!
Interview with Steven J. Guscott author of Book of Prophecy.
Interview with Steven J. Guscott author of Book of Prophecy.
Hi Steve, and Welcome. Would you like to begin by telling the readers something about yourself?
Hi, I’m Steve (Steven J. Guscott). I was born in England, spent my teens and yearly-mid twenty’s in Scotland, and I now live back in England. I’m twenty-seven and wish more than anything to own a Dragon.
My two main obsessions in life have been doing sports and reading books (now writing them). I’m a total dork/geek/nerd. I can be very serious when necessary, and I do over-think life a lot, but most of the time I’m an absolute child. I love just being silly, and am thankful that I have four nieces and a nephew that allow me to let this side out and use them as my cover.
What is/are your book/series about and what inspired you to write it?
The Book of Prophecy, is my first book. It is set on a different world in a very simple society. The story follows Dragatu and his family. They own a secret book, The Book of Prophecy, and it contains the future. Dragatu is told about it by his father, but he is not meant to read it until he’s older. Dragatu cannot help himself and the story deals with the consequences of his action, what happens between him and his two brothers, and how fragile life can be when you are given incredible power.
The inspiration came at the beginning of 2010. I was thinking it would be awesome to write a story. I had no idea where to start so I forgot about the idea. A few weeks later, on a very sleep deprived night, I was thinking about a few random things and the name Dragatu came in my head. I thought it was a cool name for a character, but then fell asleep. Luckily, the next day I remember the name and started adding the world he lived in, his family and lots of ideas and themes that I like, such as choice/predestination, morality and its grey areas, fight scenes, love, nature, and philosophy.
How long did the first one take to write and how many times did you go through it before it was finally done?
*…takes deep breath in remembered pain*
Before I answer, let me tell you two things: I’m not a patient person when it comes to wanting something, and I started writing this story with only a past in academic writing under my belt.
I started from scratch. I wrote the first draft and an outline for a series of three stories in four months in 2010 (still edited it right up until publishing aug 2014). However, my writing was terrible. I edited and edited and edited, and was still really bad. However, I felt the ideas were good enough so endured my short comings and tried to learn, and slowly I did improve. I was helped by a lot of people, mainly my publisher Sammy HK Smith, and I can’t remember how many full edits it took, maybe a hundred (no joke). Since then, it has evolved into a series of six, but who knows how long it will take to write them all.
Where do your settings come from? Are they taken from real places, made up entirely, or a conglomerate of the two?
Some of the setting is inspired by my favourite book, Dune.
One strange thing that happened was I realised some of the setting had been inspired by where I lived. At the time I lived in Stirling, Scotland and they have amazing hills stretching to make up part of the Forth Valley.
A year after writing the book I looked at the hills and was like ‘Whhooooh!! That’s the hills from my book!’ This unintentional use of things around me, or in my life/past, has happened a lot and it’s always fun to spot one. Some of the setting/plot has been conscious, but those subconscious ones always make my jaw drop.
Who is your favorite character and why?
I don’t really have a favourite character from the book. It’s strange, but in my mind they are real, and I try not to be judgmental. I know that’s a weird answer but that’s how I feel. If I really, really, really, had to pick a character I liked more, I would say it was Phoenon, one of Dragatu’s brother’s. He’s very innocent at times, and that is something I always put above other qualities.
Are you an outliner or a pantzer when it comes to start a book? If the latter, do the ideas come to you in one big lump, or are they piecemeal?
It varies. I’ve been different depending on the story. With BoP the ideas were pretty much all there in the first session of writing the ideas. However, with other story’s I’ve chopped and changed things with drafts when new ideas come.
Finally, where can the book be purchased and what are your plans for the next ones?
It is currently discounted on most if not all Amazon site 99c/p
The second book is finished (loose phraseology) and will be going to the publishers to be looked at very soon.
Thank you so much for having me!!
Steve (Steven J. Guscott)
My review of this wonderful book.
By Elizabeth Hull – Published on Amazon.com
Format:Kindle Edition
This story is a wonderful illustration of the power of the written word. Dragatu finds his world transformed when he and his brothers are granted enormous mystical powers not seen in ordinary men. The problem is that peace has lasted centuries and no one quite know how to behave in war so the book becomes not a mere guide but a religion which one person wants to enact exactly into the current circumstances.
Peace is not possible unless the decent qualities of behavior are maintained. How the brothers deal with the supernatural and the change in their life is thrilling. I would hope there is a sequel.
Air Canada bumps disabled person.
Money is everything, isn’t it Air Canada? Let’s wring the last cent for poor service. Oh and thanks very much for the whiplash I got on landing. I thought we had crashed for a few pain filled seconds. I was also astonished to be directed to what looked like a chicken shed on disembarkation. However, the wondrousness of your business ethics shone through when you choose to bump a registered disabled person because they were flying on points.
Oh, and trapped at an airport, let us not forget the twenty-five minute line-up with all wickets open and just four people being attended to over that period. It was so edifying to find, after the enormously long wait, that the gate had closed, despite the airplane not due to take off for another forty minutes. Was there a special flag run up to show this was a points flight Air Canada? Is that why the gate was closed? So you could charge me $75 for a guarenteed place on the next flight. The booking clerk then girlishly tee heed several times and announce I would have to pay another $25 for the first piece of luggage. I only had one piece of luggage, Air Canada. It was a small case I could have fitted in one of the overhead bins if I hadn’t been disabled. I have never had to pay an extra $25 for the ‘first’ piece of luggage before. I would have remembered anything that bizarre, Air Canada.
Having been told the gate was closed, I was astonished, when I eventually found it after being directed to the wrong gate by Ms Tee Hee not once but twice, to see that it was not in fact closed. No Air Canada, it was open and actively paging for people who were late. I sat there for ten minutes watching the shut gate accepting people, and when I asked I was told the flight was full so you sold my ticket to someone who paid cash, Air Canada. You left a gimp to sit in a cold airport for three hours because of your greed. Oh and on the subject of the disabled, it is normal to make an announcement for pre-boarding for persons with children or disabilities. Well I was sitting on a chair in the disabled section, Air Canada, and no such announcement was made. I am so grateful that I had to go down a series of very steep ramps to get to what you euphemistically regard as some sort of flying device. Did you only take the guy in the wheelchair down in the lift because you thought he might fly out of the tunnel when he came to a bend, Air Canada?
Oh and on the subject of having to have a different plane, why was one guy allowed to change his flight on the next flight, that I was forced to catch and not charged extra? He came right up to the boarding gate and asked them and they directed him to another place to get a waver. He wasn’t disabled, Air Canada, and I will bet he wasn’t flying on points either, but he was hot. So hot in fact, that someone had to come on to the aircraft, after we had all boarded, to check his identity as someone was so overcome that they forgot to ask for it. What sort of security is that Air Canada? Oh and how come people were allowed to add bags to the stowed luggage rack as they were boarding the aircraft? On the tarmac?
I have to be fair, Air Canada, and give you credit for the one thing you got right. You did not lose my luggage. Well Done!!!! This makes the first time in the last four miserable experiences as your hapless customer that you haven’t lost my luggage.
Have a great day. No love, Me.
Introducing Spark and Carousel by Joanne Hall
Introducing Spark and Carousel by Joanne Hall
My friend and colleague from our publisher Kristell Ink, Joanne Hall has a new book out and I asked her to say a few things about it, such as how it came into being and what it is about. Here she is to share.
Spark and Carousel
I started writing Spark and Carousel towards the end of 2011, and during that year I lost my grandfather and two close friends, as well as going through the prolonged breakdown of a long-term friendship. I didn’t start out writing the book as a reaction to that grief, but certainly it coloured some of the themes of the book (without dropping too many spoilers!) Having said that, I had just written a Big Heavy Serious Book (The Art of Forgetting) and I wanted to write something that was lighter and more of a romp, with a bit more humour. There are some really dark moments in Spark and Carousel, but there are also some funny ones, I hope… It’s also the first book I’ve written that was set mainly in a city, so that was a new environment to play with.
Blurb
Spark is a wanted man. On the run after causing the death of his mentor and wild with untamed magic, he arrives in Cape Carey where his latent talents make him the target of rival gangs. It is there that Carousel, a wire-walker and thief, takes him under her wing to guide him through the intrigues of the criminal underworld.
But when Spark’s magic cracks the world and releases demons from the hells beneath, two mages of his former order make it their mission to prevent his magic from spiralling out of control. They must find him before he falls into the clutches of those who would exploit his raw talent for their own gain, forcing Spark to confront a power he is not ready to handle.
Meanwhile, a wealthy debutante learning magic in secret has her own plans for Spark and Carousel. But the sudden arrival of the mages throws her carefully laid plans into disarray and she unleashes a terrible evil onto the streets of the unsuspecting city—an evil only Spark’s magic can control.
Everyone wants a piece of Spark, but all Spark wants is to rid himself of his talents forever.
Extract
The blow around the mage’s head set his ears ringing. He slithered from the saddle and slumped on the ground, dizzy and confused. Cavan hauled him up by the shoulder, shaking him until his teeth rattled. “Is this your doing? Some stinking wizard’s trick?”
Blocking the route ahead was a sheer wall of rock, higher than a horse could jump. Weathered and patterned with moss and lichen, it seemed to have grown out of the landscape. It had been there for centuries.
It had not been there this morning.
“Can we go though it?” Moon-face kicked the wall, and swore. There was nothing spectral about it. Kayall’s lips twitched in a suppressed smirk. “Or round it, Cavan?”
“We’ll have to go round. This is going to hold us up far too long. Bloody wizards!” Cavan vented his frustration with a boot to Kayall’s gut that left him doubled-up and wheezing. Before he could regain his breath, Cavan had lashed his hands to the pommel of his saddle.
“You walk from here,” he said. “That way I can keep an eye on you!”
Kayall grinned. “It’s not me you have to look out for!”
“What are you – Mother of stars!”
The ground in front of them split open like an over-ripe fruit. With the dull scrape of a blade emerging from a sheath, a second rock wall burst through the gap, stretching high above their heads and out to either side, throwing out grey arms to form a circle around the trio and their plunging, terrified horses. Moon-face fell on his knees, clutching at his chest, lips working a silent charm against evil magic. Cavan, more practical, rounded on his prisoner.
“You’re doing this! Make it stop!”
Kayall shrugged. “How can it be me? Do you see me waving my hands about and muttering incantations? No? Because that’s what wizards do!” He ducked, but couldn’t dodge the swinging fist that connected with his jaw and threw him on his back in the dirt. He glared up at Cavan, and spat. “You decided to take on mages. How did you think it would end?”
Available soon. Preorder here.
http://www.amazon.com/Spark-Carousel-Joanne-Hall-ebook/dp/B014LBFC88/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1441629240&sr=1-1&keywords=Spark+and+Carousel
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