I’d like to thank the excellent writer of gritty YA realism Kate Hanney for nominating me for this blog tour. Here’s her link
[[ http://www.katehanney.com/new-teenage-fiction-blog.html]]
Creative Process? Like Kate Hanney, I don’t think I have such a thing. I had one, but the wheel fell off, as the vulgar saying went in my grandmother’s day. Anyway, I’ll try and answer the questions, though I’d rather hand over to my characters Emile Dubois, or George, or Reynaud Ravensdale, or Isabella, as they are more loquacious than I am.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: As in my previous post, I’ve just released my spoof romantic historical called ‘Ravensdale’ on the hackneyed theme of ‘Wild Young Heir to an Earldom is Accused, through the Machinations of a Conniving Cousin, of Murder, and Judged by His Reputation, Becomes an Outlaw and Highwayman while Seeking to Clear His Name.’
Now, I’m interested in about three projects. One is a sequel to ‘That Scoundrel Emile Dubois’ and ‘Ravensdale’, a paranormal featuring the two cousins together, and maybe a team of monster men directed by possibly Kenrick, who’ll need some clever manipulations of time to return…
I’m also interested in the whole issue of the complicated male villain protagonist, which is why I’m reading ‘Clarissa’ from cover to cover (I admit to only reading extracts before). However, no prizes for guessing in mine he’ll meet his match in his intended female target.
Then, always rumbling at the back of my mind is that dystopian theme I was exploring when I got distracted by ‘Aleks Sager’s Daemon’ of a future where women have lost all their rights.
Q: How is your work different from others in your genre?
A: Well, we all think we’re different – I’m just the same in thinking I’m different; my excuse for that is that I revel in the cliche. I think that as there are only so many plots – depends on your definition as to how many – I wrote about that recently on my blog – and they’ve all been visited before – and many, many times, too- I think it’s time we stopped striving for originality and went back to the good old plots.
Q: Why do you write what you do?
A: That’s what I often ask myself; I honestly don’t know; I just sort of have to. I don’t know where it comes from. I do (adopts a priggish, hectoring tone suddenly) have aspirations regarding combining the literary and genre writing.
Q: How does your writing process work?
A: Maybe it doesn’t?! What I do is get tea in bed from OH, who gets up first. While I’m waiting for that and then drinking it, I churn out about four hundred words in a notebook, which I later type up. That’ s it. When really tired I’ve been known to flake out face down on my notebook I hope that doesn’t show in the quality of the writing…Sometimes I get inspired at other times. Often I mull over plots and so on when doing practical tasks.
I do get inspired by music – in my mind’s eye I saw the whole final scene in Kenrick’s laboratory in ‘That Scoudnrel Emile Dubois’ when listening to the slow movement of Bruch’s violin concerto number one, and I saw the comic sequence in ‘Ravensdale’ when listening to Bryn Terfyl singing ‘Wher’er You Walk’ , rather like watching a film.
Now I hand over to two very different but excellent writers,. The first is the lovely Lauryn April, writer of YA paranormal which I as an NSYA – Not So Young Adult – enjoy because of the strong writing and lively characters, besides the adventure and romance: –
Lauryn April has always been fascinated by the paranormal, picking up a healthy Stephen King habit by the age of thirteen. Her favorite TV show growing up was “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, and she’s always preferred bands like The Rolling Stones, and The Doors over whatever it is they’re playing on the radio now (However she admits “I Love It” by Icona Pop always puts her in a good mood).
Lauryn has been writing since she was a teenager. In the early years of her career she filled notebooks full of stories sharing them with friends. In college she spent three semesters writing for her school newspaper. Then, when she was nineteen she published her first work, a poem in her school literary magazine. When she wasn’t writing, Lauryn was studying Psychology and Philosophy and will graduate from UW Oshkosh in May of 2014 with a BA in Psychology. She continues to learn and grow as a writer taking every creative writing course available to her, as well as reading everything in sight.
You’ll find Lauryn’s post on : –
http://laurynapril.blogspot.co.uk/
Now there’s the immensely successful – lucky thing – writer Jenn Roseton, who is a talented writer specialising in contemporary sensual romance.
Jenn Roseton believes that romance and happy endings go together. When she’s not writing, she indulges in delicious gourmet chocolate.
Although she’s spent time in Wyoming, unfortunately she didn’t meet a sexy cowboy of her own. You can find out more about her books at
http://jennroseton.blogspot.co.uk/?zx=3ee504f7f375bf31