Author interview no.355 with multi-genre writer Bobby Nash

Welcome to the three hundred and fifty-fifth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, biographers, agents, publishers and more. Today’s is with multi-genre author Bobby Nash. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further.

Morgen: Hello, Bobby. Please tell us something about yourself, where you’re based, and how you came to be a writer.

Bobby: Thanks, Morgen. My name is Bobby Nash. I’m based out of Bethlehem, Georgia in the United States. And yes, an oh little town it is. I started out with the grand dream of being a comic book artist. To that end I started writing stories for myself to draw. Eventually, others started asking for scripts. Then one day I got the urge to write a novel. Then another. The rest, as they say, is history.

Morgen: I’m the same with NaNoWriMos; once you do one, you get hooked. What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

Bobby: I write in many different genres. My novels tend to be suspense thrillers, but I have written others. I have a sci fi novel slated for release in April or May called Earthstrike Agenda. My shorter prose work and comic book work runs the gamut from sci fi, to mystery, to super hero, to western, to fantasy, and so on. Certain genres play to my strengths, but I’m open to pretty much any genre as long as I have a good story to tell.

Morgen: Me too. I can’t stick one… ‘dark and light’ is a good a description as I can give them. What have you had published to-date? Do you write under a pseudonym?

Bobby: It’s quite a list, but here you go. My published work includes:

Novels: Evil Ways [out of print for the moment, but returning in 2012 from New Babel Books], Fantastix [out of print], and Deadly Games! [BEN Books].

Short stories, novellas, anthologies: Lance Star: Sky Ranger Vol. 1, Vol. 2, and Vol. 3 [Airship 27/Cornerstone Books], Startling Stories Magazine [Wild Cat Books], Sentinels Widescreen Special Edition [White Rocket Books], Full Throttle Space Tales Vol. 2: Space Sirens [Flying Pen Press], Sentinels: Alternate Visions [White Rocket Books], Domino Lady: Sex As A Weapon [Moonstone Books], Real Magicalism [Daemon Press], A Fistful of Legends [Express Westerns], The Green Hornet Casefiles [Moonstone Books], Lance Star: Sky Ranger – “Where The Sea Meets The Sky” [iPulp], Ravenwood: Stepson of Mystery [Airship 27/Cornerstone Books], Pro Se Presents: Peculiar Adventures #3 [Pro Se Press], Golden Age Good Girls [Mini Komix], Domino Lady: “Target – Domino Lady” [iPulp], and Blackthorn: Thunder of Mars [White Rocket Books].

Comic books and graphic novels: Life In The Faster Lane, Fuzzy Bunnies From Hell [FYI Comics], Bubba The Redneck Werewolf [Brass Ball Comics], Demonslayer [Avatar Press], Threshold [Avatar Press], Doc Dresden: The Immortal [Odyssey Comics], Jungle Fantasy [Avatar Press], The Garden [Planetary Stories], Fantastix [FYI Comics], Yin Yang [Arcana Comics], Lance Star: Sky Ranger [BEN Books], Urbnpop #1 [Urbnpop Comics], I Am Googol: The Great Invasion [Point G Comics], Domino Lady vs. The Mummy [Moonstone Books], and Airship 27 Presents All-Star Pulp Comics #1 [Airship 27/Red Bud Studios].

And there’s more to come.

I’ve not written under a pseudonym, but I did come up with a couple of good ones that I liked in case I ever decide to use one.

Morgen: Good grief, you could make a book out of your book titles. Have you had any rejections? If so, how do you deal with them?

Bobby: Oh, of course. Rejections are part of the job and I get more of them than I’d like. You have to have a thick skin and not take the rejections personally, which is far easier to say than do. Rejections sting. You just have to set the rejections aside and keep moving forward.

Morgen: You do. Just the right thing for the wrong person. Have you won or been shortlisted in any competitions?

Bobby: I’ve had a few nominations for the Pulp Ark Awards and the Pulp Factory Awards. I’ve not won, but it is nice to get nominated.

Morgen: Other than blogger awards (I’ve won three ) I’ve not been Do you have an agent? Do you think they’re vital to an author’s success?

Bobby: I do not have an agent. I have been looking for one, but the agent search has been a very demoralizing process so far. I will need one eventually as I would like to work with some of the larger publishing houses and the only way to make that happen is to have an agent.

Morgen: I’d say it is really, yes but you just have to keep plugging away. Are your books available as eBooks? Were you involved in that process at all? Do you read eBooks or is it paper all the way?

Bobby: Many of the books I’ve worked on are ebooks. Some are not, although I hope they will be eventually. With most publishers I have no say in how the print or ebook editions are put together. Deadly Games! was an exception. I set that one up myself.

Morgen: I’m sure they all will as it’s where books are going. How much of the marketing do you do for your published works or indeed for yourself as a ‘brand’?

Bobby: I do a little bit of marketing work daily. The sad fact is that you’re only going to get so much of a marketing push from publishers. That’s just a fact of life. So I make sure I’m out there talking up my books. I learned early on that no one was going to promote my work more than me so I’d best learn how to promote my work if I wanted to let readers know it’s out there.

Morgen: All but one of the authors I’ve spoken to do their own marketing (and the other author does really via social networking) but the advantage is that we get to speak to our readers. Do you have a favourite of your books or characters? If any of your books were made into films, who would you have as the leading actor/s?

Bobby: Not sure if I have a favorite. Each book has a special place in my heart. It’s like choosing between your children. The one that is my favorite today might not be tomorrow.

I’ve not really given a lot of thought to who would play any of the characters in my books, but I’m sure if a production company wanted to make a movie out of one of my titles I could come up with a short list.

Morgen: Did you have any say in the titles / covers of your books? How important do you think they are?

Bobby: Sometimes yes. Sometimes no. It depends on the publisher and whether or not I take the project to the publisher or whether I come on to do work for hire. Mostly not as I do a lot of work for existing books so I’m hired top write a story only.

Titles are important. I think I’ve come up with some good ones so far.

Morgen: So do I. What are you working on at the moment / next?

Bobby: At the moment I am putting the finishing touches on a graphic novel script I’m co-writing with Mike Gordon for New Legend Productions. Not much I can reveal about that one at the moment. I also just started working on a novel featuring the pulp character Domino Lady for Moonstone Books. After that I have a couple of novellas due for a few different publishers then it’s back to work on Evil Intent, the sequel to my soon to be re-released novel, Evil Ways from New babel Books. 2012 is going to be a busy year.

Morgen: Aren’t they all? Do you manage to write every day? Do you ever suffer from writer’s block?

Bobby: I write almost every day. There are some days where things happen and I just can’t get any work done. Like everything else, writing takes discipline. Since this is my job, I make sure to treat it as such so I don’t miss deadlines.

I don’t believe in Writer’s Block. As a writer friend of mine often says, and I quote, “Do plumbers get Plumber’s Block?” Sometimes the words don’t flow as well as others, certainly. When that happens I switch over to another project so I have a fresh perspective. Or I take a walk, do the laundry, or just get away from the computer for a bit. When I come back I’m relaxed and ready to go back to work.

Morgen: I interviewed crime writer Mark Billingham back in November and he said exactly the same thing (writer’s vs plumber’s block) and I agree. There are ways to get around getting stuck and as you say if you treat it as a day job your brain is likely to keep up. I should actually be saying that writer’s block is terrible (which it is if you do get stuck) and that I have a writer’s block workbook for sale but like anything if you don’t take something too seriously it doesn’t become an issue. Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Bobby: A little of both. I always have a loose idea when I start. With shorter pieces that’s usually enough to carry me through the storytelling process. With novels I have the major beats I need to hit plotted out and then I follow the characters and see which path they take to get from point A to point B. What I don’t do is outline. I’ve tried and it just doesn’t work for me. When I go back to start writing a story I’ve outlined I lose interest quickly because I feel like I’ve already told that story and don’t want to write it again.

Morgen: I don’t plot much although I’m just going back through my novels and am wondering whether I should put more down so I keep track of the threads but we’ll see. Do you have a method for creating your characters, their names and what do you think makes them believable?

Bobby: I don’t have a specific form I fill out or anything, but I try to get to know the characters I create the same way I would anyone I meet. I listen to them deal with situations and learn their quirks, habits, and expressions. If I truly get to know my characters then I can drop three characters into similar situations and each one will react to it differently, including coming up with a different resolution.

Morgen: We were talking about this in Helen Hunt’s workshop on Saturday; that some of us get images of what we think our characters look like (either from magazines or Google Images… other websites are available ). Do you write any non-fiction, poetry or short stories?

Bobby: I don’t write non-fiction or poetry. I do write the occasional short story for anthologies. I write for several anthologies. Pulp, action, sci fi, westerns, and more. Anthologies are a fun way to scratch certain creative itches. It’s nice to take risks by writing in unfamiliar territory. Anthologies help me do that.

Morgen: I’ve just had a story placed in a (charity) anthology and would love to have more out there. I reviewed some Sexy Shorts anthologies for my Short Story Saturdays page a couple of days ago and I’d love to have been in the other authors’ company. I guess it would help to send stories out, wouldn’t it? Do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

Bobby: I’d like to think that every word I type is pure gold, but the truth is that I need editing just like everyone else. I do a lot of my own editing during the writing process, but I’ve also worked with some really talented editors as well.

Morgen: Mine is great. Hi, Rachel. Do you have to do much research?

Bobby: I do a lot of research. How much or how little depends on the project. Google is my friend.

Morgen: Google has a lot of friends. What point of view do you find most to your liking: first person or third person? Have you ever tried second person?

Bobby: I generally write my stories in third person, although different chapters may focus on a singular character’s point of view. I’ve written a few first person narratives when required, but it’s not my preferred method. I’ve not attempted second person. Not even sure how I’d begin.

Morgen: I write loads of it and am so passionate about it that I gave it its own blog page. Do you have pieces of work that you think will never see light of day?

Bobby: Probably. I’ve got a lot of started and abandoned pieces. Some may never be finished.

Morgen: I have loads of those but I’m hoping it’s only a time thing and that I will get round to going through them all. What’s your favourite / least favourite aspect of your writing life? Has anything surprised you?

Bobby: I love telling stories. I love getting positive feedback from readers and publishers. I’m not crazy about submitting or the hoops that seem to be involved with finding an agent. That’s not fun. As for surprises, I’m always surprised whenever someone recognizes me or my work.

Morgen: I had a lady at a party know my name (and loved my blog / podcast apparently)… told to / by one of my Flash Fiction Fridays podcast contributors. It still gives me a warm glowy feeling. What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Bobby: If you want to write, write. If you want to write as a career, then remember that it is a job and treat it accordingly. Sometimes that means sitting at home all weekend when you’d rather be out doing anything else. Sometimes it means sleepless nights, but the payoff is worth it. Ask yourself what success is for you and shoot for that as your goal.

Morgen: I sit at home all weekend (and weekdays) not wishing I’d rather be elsewhere but certainly that I did more writing. It’s worth it though because I get to meet some great authors. If you could invite three people from any era to dinner, who would you choose and what would you cook (or hide the takeaway containers)?

Bobby: Wow. Good question.

Morgen: Oh, thanks, it’s one of the most recent.

Bobby: First, Stephen J. Cannell because I never got to meet him in person, although we did converse via email a couple of times. Second, Tom Baker, who was the Doctor Who I grew up with and it would be incredibly cool to meet him. Third, Stan Lee, who was partly responsible for the comics I read as a child that inspired me to start telling my own stories. As for the meal, I’d let them pick the place.

Morgen: I’ve only heard of Tom and he was my Doctor Who too – I had a scarf (probably knitted by my mum) just like his. Is there a word, phrase or quote you like?

Bobby: I say “cool” a lot. Usually, when I get a question like this I pull out a movie quote. Here’s one I use often from my favorite movie, JAWS. “Smile you sonuva–BOOM!” Dr. McCoy quotes from Star Trek are usually good too. Bones had the best lines.

Morgen: I didn’t watch much Star Trek (actually I think I did, I grew up with an older brother after all) but none of it has stuck, other than “beam me up Scottie” of course. Are you involved in anything else writing-related other than actual writing or marketing of your writing?

Bobby: I’ve dabbled with editing. I co-write a weekly column for New Pulp (www.newpulpfiction.com) with fellow writers Barry Reese and Mike Bullock called Table Talk. I am one of the co-hosts of the weekly Earth Station One podcast (www.esopodcast.com) along with Mike Faber and Mike Gordon. I also write blog entries about writing at my website (www.bobbynash.com) as well as on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc…

Morgen: What do you do when you’re not writing?

Bobby: Not writing? That’s usually eating, sleeping, or watching TV. It’s a very simple life I lead, no? I do the normal things that people do. I go to the grocery store, hang out with friends, catch a movie here and there, go out to meals, read, do yard work, spend time with my family, things like that.

Morgen: I’d agree with the first bit. If I’m not writing (or rather involved with this blog) I’m eating (actually I do that at the same time), sleeping (ditto ) and the occasional movie, either at home or the cinema. Are there any writing-related websites and / or books that you find useful?

Bobby: I don’t spend a lot of time reading how to sites or books. Not because I don’t think they’re a great resource, but because I’m usually too busy writing to read about the process of writing. One resource that I do use often is Preditors & Editors (http://pred-ed.com).

Morgen: Ah yes, I’ve recommended that on several occasions. Are you on any forums or networking sites? If so, how valuable do you find them?

Bobby: Absolutely. I am on many forums and social networking sites. Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Linked-In, several writers forums, marketing forums, book forums, published author forums, comic book creator forums, and on and on. I even started a Pinterest page recently although I haven’t quite got the hang of that one yet. I have a list on my website, www.bobbynash.com.

Social networks and forums are great ways to connect with fans, readers, peers, publishers, friends, and potential customers. I find them very helpful and quite fun to use.

Morgen: I’d only just heard of Pinterest really recently and still have no clue. Fortunately multi-genre author and interviewee Phyllis Zimbler Miller is going to do a guest piece for me (and everyone else of course) on the topic on Tuesday 5th June so hopefully I can get suitably excited then. What do you think the future holds for a writer?

Bobby: I think the future is bright. The publishing industry, like so many others, is currently in a state of flux. I look forward to seeing how the publishing industry evolves and I hope I get to come along for the ride.

Morgen: Where can we find out about you and your work?

Bobby: My main website is www.bobbynash.com and there are links to my work all over the site. Plus, I’m all over the internet. Just Google Bobby Nash and you’ll find me.

Morgen: Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

Bobby: I’d like to thank you for the opportunity to appear on your site. Thanks.

Morgen: You’re very welcome. Thank you for taking part. Is there anything you’d like to ask me?

Bobby: With all of the interviews you do for the website, what are some of the more surprising responses you’ve received?

Morgen: One that comes to mind is crime novelist Sheila Quigley who said that it had taken her 30 years to get published. I have 23 to go. But seriously, that’s some staying power. Thank you, Bobby, lovely to speak to you.

I then invited Bobby to include an extract of his writing and this is an excerpt from his latest novel, Deadly Games! from BEN Books (http://BEN-Books.blogspot.com has more information).

The Rusty Mug Pub was widely known as a favored hangout for the city of Atlanta’s Law Enforcement Professionals. 

Simply put, The Mug, as it was affectionately called, was a cop bar.

From the outside, the Rusty Mug Pub looked like a relic from a bygone era where everything had a rustic, old home feel.  The wrought iron grating running along the outer edges of the concrete tiled sidewalk was older than most of the bar’s patrons.  The walls were made up of deftly placed red bricks made from red Georgia clay.  The bricks had probably been manufactured not far away from the very spot many, many years earlier.  Who knows, perhaps maybe even before Sherman’s famous fire sale all those many decades past.  The place looked like it should have been on a historic tour line instead of serving as a local dive. 

It was the kind or place Norman Rockwell would have painted in his day.

And thanks to the clientele, it was a place where everyone truly knew your name and one place no one would ever dare think of robbing.

The Mug was a beautiful place on the outside and the patrons loved it, but the inside told the true tale.  On an average night thick smoke would fill the air and the smell of alcohol and cheap cologne would mingle with the smoke from at least a dozen cigars, forming a fragrance unique to the Rusty Mug.

From his secret lair in the wilds of Bethlehem, Georgia, Bobby Nash writes. A multitasker, Bobby’s certain that he does not suffer from ADD, but instead he… ooh, shiny. When he finally manages to put fingers to the keyboard, Bobby writes novels, comic books, short prose, novellas, graphic novels, and even a little pulp fiction just for good measure. And despite what his brother says, Bobby isn’t addicted to buying DVDs and can quit anytime he wants.

When not writing fiction, Bobby attends conventions and writers conferences, promotes his books, teaches writing courses and panels, and is a part-time extra in movies and television. Bobby is the co-host of the weekly Earth Station One podcast (www.esopodcast.com) and writes for New Pulp (www.newpulpfiction.com) and All Pulp (http://allpulp.blogspot.com) news sites.

For more information on Bobby Nash please visit him at www.bobbynash.com, www.facebook.com/bobbyenash, www.twitter.com/bobbynash, www.lance-star.com, and http://BEN-Books.blogspot.com among other places across the web.

***

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

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As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).

The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

• Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
• Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group (http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934)
• Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group (http://scriptwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/319941328108017)
• Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group (http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445)

We look forward to reading your comments.

 

Radio Litopia’s Open House

…starts in 45 minutes. 7pm UK time / 2pm EST.

You may notice every now and then around this blog I mention Radio Litopia.

Apart from being on-air (music, interviews, previous shows) 24 hours a day, we all congregate in the chat room every Sunday at 7pm (UK time) / 2pm (EST) for a fun-filled hour-long Open House.

Agent Pete sets us tasks and we relish in completing them – we’ve not beaten him yet! Whether it’s limericks, collective nouns or the perfect trifecta you’re bound to have fun… we do.

Once we’ve worn our brains down, we then sit back, relax and listen to Agent Pete and Dave Bartram chat to studio and Skype guests of a variety of genres while we, still in the chatroom get to comment, ask questions and, as is often the way, go completely off at a tangent.

So if you’re game (pardon the pun) for an evening of literary mayhem and education click here.

Fellow Litopians include Issy Flamel, Jack Martin, Joseph V Sultana, Julia Kavan, Lae Monie and Sarah Tanburn and you can tweet @Litopia on Twitter.

 

Flash Fiction Friday 012: ‘The grey stones and leaden cross’ by Issy Flamel

Welcome to Flash Fiction Friday and the twelfth piece of flash fiction in this new weekly series. This week’s piece is a 520-worder entitled ‘The grey stones and leaden cross’ by Issy Flamel. One thing, I’ve already learned about Issy is his skill for spooky – added to this was my selection of the date on which this piece would appear on my blog; December 9th, which meant nothing to me but when I advised Issy he told me that it’s the anniversary of the publishing of The Charge of the Light Brigade in the London Examiner. With this in mind, please read on…

Cold snakes of fog writhe from the sluggish flow of the Thames, deadening the clip-clop of the carriage horses that trot past in the gloom, harnesses clinking as they dissolve into the mists of Soho.

‘Shilling for one of the Six Hundred Sir? First to the guns for Queen and country.’ As the beggar thrusts a battered army cap forward with a reek of sour ale, a grimy eye-patch, set in a sea of scars that disfigure a shattered cheek and jaw, breaks into the flickering glare of the gaslights. Tennyson only published in The Examiner days ago, and surely this wretch cannot have been shipped from the Crimea in six weeks? But he gets a sixpence for sheer gall, and raises a knuckle to his temple as he turns for the gin-shop at the corner of Wardour Street.

A siren voice calls from the warm light under a painted sign announcing Mrs. Dawson’s Dress Emporium.

‘Care for a fitting, dearie? You look a well-built fellow,’ she trills, swishing her skirts so the material gleams in invitation. An acceptance will win passage through the veil of heavy velvet curtains at the rear of the shop to the narrow stairwell up which the real business is conducted. Under her feet, entombed in the dripping walls of the basement room, two sullen-eyed waifs watch as their mother vomits her life away, while Vibrio Cholarae breeds inside her. The industrious Pacini has this year identified the germ through his microscopical investigations, but what can a subject of that medieval fantasia Lombardy-Venetia know of medicine? Doctor Snow, who cannot be doubted on the grounds of being a feverish Latin, has also produced his outlandish theory of little unseen creatures – but everyone knows the science is settled and a miasma of foul breezes transmit the disease. So although the handle was removed from the pump on Broad Street in September, other sources of infection remain. The children will be buried in the same grave, as the parish coffers of St. Luke’s are drained by the epidemic.

Next door to the bawdy den the grey stones and leaded windows are covered in a spreading crust of green algae, as though nature is rebelling against the artifice of human ingenuity and reclaiming the façade. The curious potential customer extracts his handkerchief and wipes clear a viewing hole into the dank interior; he makes out an eccentric jumble of bric-a-brac, furniture and dusty piles of leather-bound manuscripts. A balding toy monkey sits expectantly, cymbals poised to clash, waiting for the maestro’s acknowledgement. A pair of russet enamel vases, one with an umbrella poking out of the top, the other blessed with a cascade of curling, desiccated lilac blooms, the promise of their heady, sultry perfume enticing one over the threshold through the glass. And perched atop a French Empire escritoire, eyes glinting ovals of night in the reflected brilliance of gold leaf patterning, sits a lacquerware demon. His tongue protrudes rudely between razor teeth, lolling down onto his blood-red chest as his gaze beckons. Entering, as under a spell, the traveller falls into the darkness of another world.

I asked Issy what prompted this piece and he said…

I had just devoured the first few chapters of Umberto Eco’s latest novel The Prague Cemetery, and I wanted to see if I could achieve similar effects. I’ve always admired his work (his books On Beauty and Kant and the Platypus are both accessible to the non-specialist and breathtaking in scope) with the incredible density of the ideas. So I sat down, gave myself half an hour, and this is what came out. In the modern age we are used to being bombarded with data from every angle, and his novels in some ways mimic this with an intertwining of narrative and milieu that is astonishing at times. When going through life we are aware of a multiplicity of events, thoughts and emotions, and in many cases we don’t know what is important as we experience them – they are just part of the background babble that is the soundtrack to our lives. I’ve tried to produce this feeling of a melting pot of immediacy. Whether I’ve succeeded or not is for others to judge!

Half an hour? I despair. <laughs> Thank you (again) Issy.

When not writing, and being mentioned on The Society of Authors website, Issy can be found hanging out on Twitter and in the depths of Radio Litopia and WriterLot where you can read equally atmospheric and haunting pieces from the minute-long ‘Cherry Blossom’ to a make-yourself-comfortable 12-minute ‘Gloriana’.

If you’d like to submit your 1,000-word max. stories for consideration for Flash Fiction Friday take a look here.

The blog interviews will return as normal tomorrow with multi-genre author Terra Hangen – the two hundred and thirteenth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, biographers, agents, publishers and more. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further. And I enjoy hearing from readers of my blog; do either leave a comment on the relevant interview (the interviewees love to hear from you too!) and / or email me. You can also read / download my eBooks and free eShorts at Smashwords.

 

Author interview no.185 with literary novelist Ellen Feldman

Welcome to the one hundred and eighty-fifth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. Today’s is with novelist, author of social history and book reviewer Ellen Feldman. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further.

Morgen: Hello, Ellen. Please tell us something about yourself and how you came to be a writer.

Ellen: I am a fulltime writer.  All I’ve ever wanted to be was a writer, though for a long time I was too frightened to try, because I thought writers were a breed apart.

Morgen: “too frightened to try” – I love that. What happened next?

Ellen: I worked for a few years in advertising and publishing, then finally got up the courage to start writing.  Lest this sound as if I’m about to say, the rest is history, I’m not.  I spent many years freelancing for publishing houses while I wrote my heart out until I got published.

Morgen: It’s a shame that you felt you needed the courage but you clearly had (have) the passion that so many of us share with you. What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

Ellen: I confess to disliking the idea of genres.  I think it buttonholes writers unfairly and discourages readers who might love the book if it didn’t come with a label.

Morgen: Oh me too. That’s why I stick with short stories. Well, not the only reason (it’s also what I love reading) but I can’t stick with one genre, and that’s the joy of eBooking. How much of the marketing do you do for your published works or indeed for yourself as a ‘brand’?

Ellen: I’m not a good marketer, however I happily do whatever my publishers in the UK and the US arrange.  I don’t think of myself as a “brand,” because each of my books is different.

Morgen: You’re very fortunate. I’ve heard of so many writers being pigeon-holed because they write a particular genre and then it’s what’s expected of them, from the industry and readers alike I’d say. Have you won or been shortlisted in any competitions and do you think they help with a writer’s success?

Ellen: I was shortlisted for the Orange Prize and have won a Guggenheim.  I’m not sure how much they help a writer’s success, but they certainly sent this writer over the moon.

Morgen: I have your latest novel ‘Next to Love’ and it mentions the Orange Prize shortlist on the (gorgeous) cover. Do you have an agent? Do you think they’re vital to an author’s success?

Ellen: I have an agent in the US and another in the UK.  They work together.  I think they’re invaluable professionally and consider them both personal friends.

Morgen: As do I my editor. Are your books available as eBooks?

Ellen: My books are available as e-books, and I think it’s a terrific platform for those who enjoy it.  I don’t care in what form people read my books; I’m just delighted if they read them.

Morgen: Me too. I like to think that most writers write to be read and not just sold. Do you read eBooks?

Ellen: I don’t read on an electronic device myself, simply because I like to turn actual pages, but my husband does and swears by it.

Morgen: A lot of people do, although most authors I’ve spoken to love both formats, although some are still fighting eBooks. I think they’re great for different purposes; paperbacks at home, eBooks away. Did you have any say in the title of your books? How important do you think they are?

Ellen: I have chosen all my titles, with help from my US agent.  I think they’re important, though not necessarily crucial.

Morgen: I love titles but yes, they’re not the only reason I buy a book. Do any of your books have dedications? If so, to whom and (if appropriate) why?

Ellen: They all have dedications to people, either living or dead, whom I want to honor.

Morgen: Have you had any rejections? If so, how do you deal with them?

Ellen: Show me a writer who hasn’t had rejections, and I’ll show you someone who’s not telling the whole truth.  The only way I know of dealing with a rejection is to keep writing.

Morgen: To literally “write your heart out”. What are you working on at the moment / next?

Ellen: I’m at work on a novel set against the cultural cold war about a marriage and a nation betrayed.

Morgen: Do you manage to write every day? What’s the most you’ve written in a day?

Ellen: I write almost every day, but I do so much backing and filling and rewriting that I never know how much I’ve written in any given day.

Morgen: It sounds like you don’t need to search far but a question some authors dread, where do you get your inspiration from?

Ellen: Ah, I wish I knew.  It’s some deep subterranean process that, strangely enough, tends to bubble up when I run my three miles around the Central Park reservoir every morning.

Morgen: Running, walking works for a lot of writers (I have a notebook in every dog-walking jacket). Central Park is featured in so many movies, it’s looks a wonderful place so it’s not surprising that it’s your muse. Do you have a method for creating your characters?

Ellen: I have no method.  I just have to live with them and get to know them better and better as the book goes on.

Morgen: We’ve mentioned your novels mostly so far, do you do any other type of writing?

Ellen: I write either book reviews or magazine pieces on social history when asked to do so.  I recently wrote a short story for BBC4.

Morgen: I know a lot of people listen to the BBC – they’re so supportive of writers. Do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

Ellen: I do an enormous amount of rewriting.  In fact, I probably do more rewriting now than when I started out, because I demand more of myself.  There’s an old Hemingway quote that goes something to the effect:  When you start out, it’s fun for you and hell for the reader.  By the end, it’s hell for you and fun for the reader.

Morgen: Oh dear. I guess I would rather have it that way round though. One of poets says she finds writing tortuous which is a shame, although her writing is superb so I guess she’s there already. How much research do you have to do for your writing? Have you ever received feedback from your readers?

Ellen: I do a great deal of research and love hearing from readers.

Morgen: Let’s hope we have some comments here. What point of view do you find most to your liking: first person or third person? Have you ever tried second person?

Ellen: Whether I use first or third depends on the demands of the story I’m trying to tell and the characters themselves.  I’ve never tried second person. Finding the person and more important the voice is crucial for me.  Once I start hearing the voice, I know I’m on the way.

Morgen: Oh I love second person. It’s an acquired taste; sadly most editors haven’t acquired it yet. Do you have pieces of work that you think will never see light of day?

Ellen: I have a novel I worked on for two-and-a-half years that I doubt will ever be published.

Morgen: Oh dear. Looking on the bright side, it was practice (not sure that helps when you’ve spent so long on it)… What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Ellen: If you don’t have to write, don’t.  It’s often a difficult life with much heartbreak.  But if you have to write, go to it.  When it’s going well, few things are more wonderful.

Morgen: Absolutely. Thank you so much Ellen.

Ellen was recently a guest on internet writing-related show Radio Litopia’s ‘After Dark’ which I’ve been involved in for the past year. I was in the chatroom that evening when we were asked to come up with the titles for the show. Knowing that Ellen’s latest book was called ‘Next to love’ I suggested something like ‘Writing is the next best thing to love’. It was picked (minus ‘Writing is’) and I won a signed copy of Ellen’s book (which is proudly sitting next to me as I type this). I have just started reading it but am already hooked, not surprising when the opening of Chapter 1 is ‘Babe does not take long to learn the dirty little secret of war’. You can listen to Ellen’s episode on Radio Litopia here.

***

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008E88JN0 for outside the UK **

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).

The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

• Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
• Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group (http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934)
• Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group (http://scriptwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/319941328108017)
• Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group (http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445)

We look forward to reading your comments.

 

Radio Litopia is now a Sunday double-bill… starting now!

As I type this online writing radio show Radio Litopia’s Open House is just starting. Whilst I understand that thousands of people listen to the podcast (that’s how I started) the main fun (for me anyway) the chat room is generally attended by a fairly exclusive bunch of people. Quality over quantity? Absolutely, but Agent Pete (who I interviewed yesterday morning by the way) loves to have a crowd. It can get pretty rowdy but one thing’s for sure – you’re going to have some fun.

So… I’m off to join them and if you have a spare hour of two, then come along…

Open House runs 6.30pm to 8pm UK time (1.30pm East Coast time / 10.30pm Pacific time) – fun and games so you need brain power

then

Litopia After Dark 8pm to 9pm – often with some wonderful guests! We’ve had Mark Billingham, Peter James, Ellen Feldman and many more… don’t know who we have tonight but I’ll update this page when I know.

http://www.litopia.com/radio/live-events

when the page opens you’ll hear Agent Pete’s dulcet tones and the rest of us playing games. Put a username (no spaces) where prompted (in the middle of the black square) and Bob’s your father’s brother.

 

Author interview no.166 with writer DV Berkom

Welcome to the one hundred and sixty-sixth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. Today’s is with fantasy, mystery and suspense / thriller author DV Berkom. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further.

Morgen: Hello, DV.

DV: Hi Morgen, thanks so much for inviting me on your blog!

Morgen: You’re so welcome, we’ve had a fair amount of contact via Twitter etc. so it’s lovely to finally have a proper chat. Please tell us something about yourself and how you came to be a writer.

DV: Currently, I live in the Pacific Northwest in the US (think RAIN and BIG TREES) with my sweetheart, Mark, an ex-chef-turned-contractor, and write whenever I can carve out the time. I’ve been writing short stories for years, but actually started taking my writing seriously in 2006, when I completed my first novel. Wow- what a rush that was! Now, I can’t seem to stop…

Morgen: Me too; http://NaNoWriMo.org in a few days. What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

DV: I attempted fantasy first (love dragons and faeries), then mystery, and finally found my “voice” in the suspense / thriller genre. A natural progression, since I enjoy giving my characters a lot of insurmountable obstacles to overcome. Well, that and I love to blow things up.

Morgen: I think I’m still finding my niche although my writing group tell me my voice is there. Dark and humour is pretty much my home I think. What have you had published to-date? If applicable, can you remember where you saw your first books on the shelves?

DV: Currently, I have four novellas e-pubbed in the Kate Jones Thriller Series: Bad Spirits, Books 1-5 (originally 5 shorts combined into one), Dead of Winter, Death Rites and Touring for Death. All are available on Amazon.co.uk, BarnesandNoble.com, XinXii.com and Smashwords.com.

Morgen: I see what you mean about not stopping. How much of the marketing do you do for your published works or indeed for yourself as a ‘brand’?

DV: As a self-pubbed writer, I do all of my own marketing. It’s fun, but a bit overwhelming! I have a web site, www.dvberkom.com, and guest blog whenever I can. There are so many great people and places to work with, including fab blogs like yours, that the sky’s the limit. If only there were 36 hours in a day…

Morgen: Ah thank you. My blog is what it is really because of all the authors involved – and I’m not just saying that because I’m talking to one of them but it would just be me and my ramblings otherwise. Do you write under a pseudonym? If so why and do you think it makes a difference?

DV: D.V. Berkom is a semi-pseudonym. It’s very close to my given name. It helps to keep things separate, financially and otherwise. It was a little confusing at first, though. I’d be at an event and someone would have to repeat “DV” a couple of times before I realized they were speaking to me.

Morgen: That’s funny. You mentioned e-publishing, are your books available as eBooks? If so what was your experience of that process? And do you read eBooks?

DV: All of my books are offered as eBooks. It’s absolutely the best way for me to go, since I have always been a do-it-yourselfer and am very independent. I read eBooks as well as print – I just love reading! This is an exciting time to be an author. Yes, things are up in the air in the publishing world, but that’s when the biggest strides and innovations are going to happen.

Morgen: I think it’s a great time to be a writer and am so glad I’ve come into the eRevolution now. What are you working on at the moment / next?

DV: At the moment, I’m writing a stand-alone novel tentatively titled Pieces of April. It’s a total departure from Kate Jones but is still in the suspense / thriller genre and involves a strong female protagonist (who may or may not have been a paid assassin…) I’m hoping to have it available by the end of the year.

Morgen: Ooh sounds interesting. Do you manage to write every day? What’s the most you’ve written in a day?

DV: I try, but can’t always manage it every day. I think the most I’ve ever written was somewhere around 5,000 words.

Morgen: A tenth of a NaNo novel. What is your opinion of writer’s block? Do you ever suffer from it? If so, how do you ‘cure’ it?

DV: I don’t think of it as ‘writer’s block’.  It’s more that my subconscious is telling me I’ve made a wrong turn somewhere in the story and I’d better figure it out, or I won’t be able to continue. I’ve found that if I let the manuscript alone for a bit and do something else, it allows the story to percolate. Then I’m usually hit with the remedy while I’m doing the most innocuous things, like cleaning my shower.

Morgen: There are some advantages to procrastination. A question some authors dread, where do you get your inspiration from?

DV: Ideas come from everywhere! The news, a snippet of a conversation, dreams, the internet, you name it! I wrote Bad Spirits after reading about the escalating drug violence in Mexico. I’d lived there for a time and fell in love with the people and the country, and was just so sad that these horrendous events were happening there.

Morgen: I have a friend in Mexico and she’s given me mixed views on the country. I think she’s pretty safe where she is and is very patriotic. We’ve just mentioned ideas, do you plot your stories or do you just get the idea and run with it?

DV: I begin with an idea, run with it for a few chapters and then start writing myself notes directly in the manuscript on where I want to take the story. I try to remember to make the font a different color so I can see at a glance what needs to be removed during editing.

Morgen: Hopefully less colour than black and white. Do you have a method for creating your characters, their names and what do you think makes them believable?

DV: My characters come mainly from my imagination, and are sometimes composites of people I’ve met throughout my life. Their names usually just come to me, but I make sure that they don’t all begin with the same letter.

Morgen: Yes, very important. I read a story a while back with male and female characters will too similar names and got very confused. I mentioned in today’s podcast red pen session that any time the reader stops because something baffles them or makes them re-read is a step towards them putting the book down. In the excerpt I read there was a paragraph mentioning two female characters and where the author was talking about one she then went on to say ‘her right shoulder’ … so it’s not clear (although we can work it out) whether it’s the grandmother’s or leading character’s shoulder. It’s obviously easy with two genders but needs to be clearer when the same.

DV: I remember one instance my critique partner pointed out that all the male character names in a story I was working on began with an ‘A’. It’s weird the things you don’t catch in your own writing.

Morgen: I went to a talk given by crime reader Stephen Booth a few days ago and he said he has two rows of A-Z by his desk and when he uses a new characters name he crosses off one letter for the first name and one for the surname. I have an A-Z above my desk for some of the games we do during Litopia’s Open House on a Sunday evening but that’s another great use.

DV: I think what makes a character believable are their flaws. Reading about the perfect alpha male and / or female bores me to death. Give me a messed up human being any day.

Morgen: Absolutely. None of us are perfect so why write about someone who is? Someone who thinks he or she is maybe but then part of the story would be finding out they’re not and why (and perhaps by whom). Who is your first reader – who do you first show your work to?

DV: My critique partners. All of them write in different genres and have different strengths, and will kick my butt into next Tuesday if I don’t bring my best. I’m very lucky to have found a group of talented writers with which to develop the craft. And, of course I let Mark (my partner) read the first draft. I love having a male point of view for the stories. He’s honest and is great with technical things.

Morgen: That’s great. Sadly I can’t say the same for housemate (my dog). Do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

DV: I edit as I go. I’ll write one day, then the next go over that and continue on. Once I’ve gotten it back from my critique group, I make changes they suggest and put it away for a bit. Then, I go over it once or twice more and send it out to several beta readers. When I get those suggestions back, I’ll tighten it all up and then read it out loud to myself. It’s amazing what you can catch when you do that. Then I’ll more than likely tweak it until I upload. It has gotten easier to catch things, the more I write.

Morgen: Too true, practice makes… much improved. And yes, reading it out loud makes all the difference. I read the podcast red pen pieces in my head first then writing the critique and it’s surprising how much more I can find to mention when I then read it out for the recording. I should just read it aloud first but then maybe I wouldn’t find the things I found on the first read. How much research do you have to do for your writing? Have you ever received feedback from your readers?

DV: I try to research as much as possible. I love to travel, so it’s not a hardship, certainly. The internet is a wonderful thing and I use it extensively, but actually experiencing the place I’m writing about or doing the things I’m describing is the best way, at least for me. As for feedback, yes! I love to get emails from readers – that way I know what’s working and what isn’t. Apparently, one of the male characters (Sam) in Dead of Winter really struck a chord with readers – I’ve received several requests to do another story with both Sam and Kate. I’ve already got a rough idea in mind.

Morgen: Oh great. What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write?

DV: Coffee. Lots and lots of coffee. I also have an insatiable need to clean the kitchen. Don’t ask me why. I hate housework.

Morgen: But we always find plenty of it to do before we right. Get the clutter free from our houses and it’ll de-clutter our minds? Not sure but it helps. Do you write on paper or do you prefer a computer?

DV: Definitely computer.

Morgen: Me too, although I prefer to edit on paper. Some writers like quiet, others the noise of a coffee shop etc. Do you listen to music or have noise around you when you write or do you need silence?

DV: In the beginning I get distracted when there’s anything on, so silence to start. Once I get into the scene, though, the house could explode around me and I wouldn’t notice.

Morgen: What point of view do you find most to your liking: first person or third person? Have you ever tried second person?

DV: The Kate Jones books are all in first person, and Pieces of April is in third. I like them both for different reasons. It all depends on the story. I haven’t tried second yet. I once wrote a short story in first-person / present tense and found it fascinating.

Morgen: Oh do try second person. It’s my favourite tense, certainly for shorter pieces. I have a few second pov on http://morgenbailey.wordpress.com/writing-group-exercises/sentence-starts if you’d like to try some of those. What’s your favourite / least favourite aspect of your writing life?

DV: Favourite: Getting lost in a scene and the characters. Least favourite: Not enough time for writing!

Morgen: Snap, although I’m hoping that giving up my day job at Christmas will help. If anything, what has been your biggest surprise about writing?

DV: How your subconscious is always working on the story and will spring surprises on you. I’ve learned to let it have its way – it always ends up being better than what I originally intended.

Morgen: I love that. What advice would you give aspiring writers?

DV: Write! Join a critique group. In the beginning, the hardest thing in the world for me was to let other people read my work and critique it. Now, I relish other people’s perspectives on the stories. I know it makes my writing so much richer. Then revise, revise, revise. Take classes. Learn the craft. Shore up your weaknesses (we all have them ) It ain’t easy, but is ultimately rewarding in the extreme.

Morgen: Is it. My non-writing friends (less of them than writing friends!) read some of my stuff and say “oh, I couldn’t do that” but I say “try” because you really never know what’s going to come out… that’s my favourite bit. What do you like to read?

DV: I read tons of different genres, literary fiction, non-fiction, you name it. The novelists I tend to come back to time and again tell a great story. I also love me some humor.

Morgen: That’s me too; dark and funny. What do you do when you’re not writing?

DV: Besides working full-time, I love photography, traveling, hiking, camping, gardening, anything outdoors. I’m also a certified feng shui practitioner, so occasionally do consultations. My main interest is writing, though.

Morgen: Me too, live and breathe. Are there any writing-related websites and/or books that you find useful and would recommend?

DV: Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass, and reading, reading, reading other authors. Dissect their work. Once you start writing, you’ll never look at a novel the same way…sometimes good, sometimes not.

Morgen: I know you’re on some forums and networking sites because that’s how we ‘met’ but how invaluable do you find them?

DV: Too many! But they can be invaluable – I do have to limit myself, or I wouldn’t write. For example, because of being a member of a crime writer’s listserv I was lucky enough to exchange emails with a retired Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) supervisor out of Dallas and received some great advice regarding Bad Spirits. Facebook is fun and I’ve ‘met’ so many lovely people on Twitter.

Morgen: Isn’t it great, I’m having the time of my life. Where can we find out about you and your work?

DV: You can visit my website: www.dvberkom.com and I have an author page on Amazon.com.

Morgen: What do you think the future holds for a writer?

DV: It’s so exciting to be a writer now. Things are changing fast! The main thing I’ve noticed is that the playing field has now opened up to anyone with the drive and determination to get their work out there. The eBook revolution has just begun – there has been and will be some fantastic changes in how we read and understand the novel. I love the printed page and don’t believe it’s going away, but more and more choices are available to the reader as well as the writer and I think ultimately that’s a good thing.

Morgen: Absolutely. There’s talk on LinkedIn (as there is everywhere else) about the book dying but I do believe that eBooks are getting more people reading, and they serve different purposes; whilst you won’t need to take a suitcase of books on holiday, books look lovely on a shelf and there’s nothing quite like snuggling up in a comfy chair or in bed and holding paper. Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

DV: I wanted to thank you again, Morgen, for this interview and your time. I appreciate all that you do and look forward to reading more author interviews!

Morgen: Ah, thank you for taking part. As for the interviews, they’ll be one a day for as long as the authors want to talk to me… or until I’ve spoken to every one there is. Is there a question you’d like to ask me?

DV: I loved Deep Pan Payback. Do you write a lot of micro fiction? It strikes me as quite challenging!

Morgen: Oh wow, thank you. It was the first thing I ever had published so I’m very fond of it. I used to write quite a few and found the more I wrote the more they came out around the 60 word length. I tend to write longer pieces these days but I still love them and will be writing more, perhaps releasing them as a flash fiction eBook.

I then invited DV to provide an extract of her writing and this is the opening from ‘Bad Spirits’:

Something didn’t feel right.

Dark.

Dirt floor.

My left side ached, and I could barely swallow. I sat with my eyes closed and tried to recall what happened. The events from the previous night came crashing back into the present, and the fear of discovery threatened to overwhelm me again.

I peeked around the corner of the corrugated steel building. A lone goat munched on some dried grass near a split-rail fence. A few yards away a rooster pecked at the hard, dry earth. An older woman with salt and pepper colored hair and skin like a walnut, scattered seed in front of him. She clutched a brown and white serape around her against the early morning chill.

Everything appeared calm, bucolic, even. I leaned back against the metal wall and took stock of my position.

Salazar ruled this little section of Sonora with an iron hand. The woman outside would not help me, for fear of payback. In fact, no one who knew him would be fool enough to assist Salazar’s crazy American woman.

I love that, thank you again DV!

DV Berkom grew up in the Midwest, received her BA in Political Science from the University of Minnesota, and promptly moved to Mexico to live on a sailboat. Several years and at least a dozen moves later, she now resides outside of Seattle, Washington with her sweetheart Mark, an ex-chef-turned-contractor, and writes whenever she gets a chance. You’re welcome to email her at dvb@dvberkom.com or chat with her on Facebook or Twitter – she loves to hear from readers as well as other writers.

***

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008E88JN0 for outside the UK **

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).

The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

• Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
• Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group (http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934)
• Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group (http://scriptwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/319941328108017)
• Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group (http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445)

We look forward to reading your comments.

 

Flash Fiction Friday 003: Issy Flamel’s ‘The Ruby Stradivarius’

Welcome to Flash Fiction Friday and the third piece of flash fiction in this new weekly series. This week’s story is a 588-worder entitled ‘The Ruby Stradivarius’ by Issy Flamel.

The room fills with the scratching of nib across paper as Jacob prays for his hand to cease trembling and let him sign the contract. He closes his eyes and forces in a ragged breath as he screws the barrel of the pen back into its lid and places it with a solid clunk on the heavy wood of the table. He opens them to see the knowing smile of his new employer breaking across his broad, open face, the greying eyebrows arched above the cornflower blue eyes.

‘Congratulations Herr Shulman! And welcome to our little band.’ Jacob’s hand is wrapped inside the older man’s and shaken effusively.

‘Thank you Herr Direktor, thank you! I hope… that is I know… I mean I want you to know…’ the words come rushing out until the Direktor shushes him with a wave of his hands.

‘Peace Jacob, peace, or how will you play? For, now we have the formalities over with, it is time.’ As he speaks Jacob follows through the gleaming oak doorway and glides down the scarlet silk carpet, under the opulent glint of gilded traceries and diamond sparkle of teardrop chandeliers, breathing in the history heavy air to the echoes of ghostly applause showering down from the gods. And there it is. Balanced on a single chair, commanding the platform of the gently raked stage, the Ruby Stradivarius, its dark sinuous tones gleaming under the spotlight, throwing down its challenge.

‘As leader it is yours, and only yours, to play as long as you are with us…’ and the gesture is made, inviting Jacob to claim his prize.

‘I can’t believe… all my life I’ve wanted… how did you come by such a masterpiece?’ and instantly the question is regretted, as the first note of dissonance intrudes. The esteemed Direktor pulls at his cuffs and shifts his glance away.

Jacob feels without being able to say why that somehow a mistake has been made, expectations tarnished, the off-colour joke at a family funeral, or the unwanted advance that hangs in the air long after the rejection.

‘We have been very fortunate Herr Shulman… after the war… well you know how things were. A generous benefactor, a reparation you might say…’ he coughs into a handkerchief and the words tail off.

And still Jacob stands, disturbed and dazzled by the moment, his limbs chained, until a controlling grip on his shoulder thrusts him forward. Now the instrument is cradled in his hands, nestled to his chin, and with a sweep of the bow is singing, singing with such ethereal sweetness, rise after rise of spiralling cadenzas that flow one upon another as he feels the violin pulse under his fingers, the strings shimmering. Plunged into ecstasy Jacob is lost.

Then in an instant his startled eyes recoil as the polished veneer is now not ruby, but a roiling sea of blood, and the music a despairing, mournful glissando, as cold skeletal fingers entwine with his, falling whispers of ringlets brush his cheek and caress the living wood. Flesh pressing down on the strings, flesh pressing out against the razor-wire, a cremation ash of falling rosin gleaming under the searchlights, as the dogs snarl and the wail of the music is lost in the dead rumble of wagon doors. Sing unto the Lord a new song. Hear me when I call O God of my righteousness. Crimson flames glimmering in its curves, a defiant crescendo spills out, denying death, as a stolen life reclaims a stolen violin and sings its song into eternity.

I asked Issy what prompted this piece and he said…

The inspiration was a re-watching of Schindler’s List. The scene of the piles of belongings, spectacles, even human hair shorn from those about to be liquidated was so haunting I wanted to record a reaction. I suppose I centred on the idea of what do we leave behind when we are gone? And faced with the monstrosity of the attempted eradication of a whole people I wanted to show a defiance, a repudiation if you like. It is difficult to address this issue, because one doesn’t want to fall into sentimentality, and finding a new way to approach the Shoah is not easy! I think it works. I hope so anyway.

Thank you Issy, it’s a very powerful story.

When not writing, and being mentioned on The Society of Authors website, Issy can be found hanging out on Twitter and in the depths of Radio Litopia and WriterLot where you can read this story and other equally atmospheric and haunting pieces from the minute-long ‘Cherry Blossom’ to a make-yourself-comfortable 12-minute ‘Gloriana’.

If you’d like to submit your 1,000-word max. stories for consideration for Flash Fiction Friday click here.

 

Author interview no.130 with supernatural mystery, historical and short story writer Geoffrey Guiver

Welcome to the one hundred and thirtieth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, directors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. Today’s is with supernatural mystery, historical and short story author Geoffrey Guiver. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here.

Morgen: Hello Geoffrey, lovely to ‘see’ you again. Please tell us something about yourself and how you came to be a writer.

Geoffrey: I started writing when I was in the armed forces.  I don’t think the Services were quite ready for me; I became very bored on long, tedious deployments, and picked up a pen.  I kept writing in civilian life.  Corporate pressures resulted in several false starts to books, until one day I fell out with my boss, and took a career break to write.  Fool that I was, I thought I could dash off a book in six months.  Four years and multiple re-writes later, the career break has become a way of life. The ex-boss, by the way, will bear no resemblance at all to a particularly nasty character in my next book.

Morgen: I believe you Geoffrey. What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

Geoffrey: I like to write material that has a strong emotional or spiritual dimension.  Saxon, the book I’ve just finished, is a supernatural mystery at the ethereal end of the scale, with just a hint of sulphur amongst the roses.  I’m told my writing has a powerful sense of place; I can trace that back to an inspirational Geography professor who could see history written in the landscape.  I set Saxon in the village of Allingley, which would have been Aegl-ingas-leigh in Anglo-Saxon, the clearing of the folk of Aegl.

Morgen: Historical is very popular – three agents I met at Winchester in July all needed more. What have you had published to-date? If applicable, can you remember where you saw your first books on the shelves?

Geoffrey: I live in hope!

Morgen: Ahh… well, in the meantime, how much of the marketing do you do for your writing?

Geoffrey: Social media publicity is an art I’m learning.

Morgen: It is. And it’s hard work but fun and often rewarding (although, like you, my books aren’t available yet so I’m hoping). I know the answer to this one but I’ll ask anyway; have you won or been shortlisted in any competitions and do you think they help with a writer’s success?

Geoffrey: I won the ‘Get Writing 2011’ conference prize for a short story, and that certainly helped.  I sense that even an unpublished writer is taken more seriously once they have independent recognition.

Morgen: You did, I was there (and a shortlist, second year in a row)… well done again. Do you write under a pseudonym? If so why and do you think it makes a difference?

Geoffrey: Yes!  And for good commercial reasons.  I still depend on a trickle of business consultancy to pay the bills.  My clients would be less disposed to hire me if they realised how obsessed I was with writing fiction.

Morgen: Or maybe they’d be jealous / delighted / curious (delete as appropriate). I’m glad to hear you use the word ‘obsessed’ as that’s exactly how I feel. Do you have an agent? Do you think they’re vital to an author’s success?

Geoffrey: Not yet, but I’m looking.  I think a good agent can multiply sales, but I sense the market is polarising between the big name, big publisher deals and the new entrants.  The middle is being squeezed.

Morgen: I think every corner is being squeezed but as you’re obsessed I know you’ll just keep going. Are you involved at all with eBooks? Do you read them?

Geoffrey: I had an offer to publish Saxon from an American, royalty-paying, e-pub/print-on-demand publisher earlier this year.  We disagreed about the contract, but with hindsight the book wasn’t ready, even with the help of their excellent UK editor.  The great advantage of the e-pub revolution is that if you define publication as having a valid ISBN, the barriers to publication are coming down.

Morgen: They are, and I think it’s incredibly exciting.

Geoffrey: The downside … is that the barriers to publication are coming down.  Stuff can be published that could never get into traditional print, and the easier it is to be published, in some form, the harder it is to be heard amongst the noise.

Morgen: That too (and that’s a hot topic in the LinkedIn forums) but I still maintain that good reviews will out… an author (of any calibre) can only have so many friends and family. What was your first acceptance?

Geoffrey: Having a short story, Muse, accepted for publication in the Litopia anthology.  That was quite a buzz.

Morgen: Ah yes, you’re on Litopia (http://litopia.com). I’d forgotten. A great site / show. Have you had any rejections? If so, how do you deal with them?

Geoffrey: Haven’t we all?  The hardest one for me was an agent who turned me down earlier this year.  We’d been introduced by a published author, he’d seen me win a writing prize, and he wanted to like the book.  That rejection hurt.  Six months and much rewriting later, I’ve absorbed his feedback and have a much finer work.  That particular door has closed, but if I met him now I’d shake his hand and thank him.

Morgen: Something good came out of it. What are you working on at the moment / next, Geoffrey?

Geoffrey: Another supernatural mystery, again a present-day plot that’s grounded in English history (in this case the 14^th century) and the English landscape.  I’ve provisionally titled it Guardian.

Morgen: Ooh, there was a TV series called that (nothing like yours; modern day lawyer – played by the same guy as The Mentalist, which I also love – two great flawed characters) Do you manage to write every day? What’s the most you’ve written in a day?

Geoffrey: I wish.  I write in spurts in between consultancy projects.  I don’t think I’ve ever achieved more than 2,000 words in a day, and if you measured SAXON across the time it has taken to write, rewrite, polish, edit, etc., it would average nearer to 200.

Morgen: Ah but 200 words a day is 73,000 over a year – just about a novel-length project. What is your opinion of writer’s block? Do you ever suffer from it? If so, how do you ‘cure’ it?

Geoffrey: Yes, I get stuck sometimes.  The best cure is to be locked into an environment where your mind can float free.  A long, steady, motorway drive.  A boring sermon in church.  (Sorry, vicar!)

Morgen: Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Geoffrey: My first attempt at a book evolved with the characters.  It took me 100,000 words to realise that the absence of structure made it unsalable.  Saxon was plotted, but diverged into interesting by-ways as it was written.

Morgen: Oh dear. You mention characters, do you have a method for creating them, their names and what do you think makes them believable?

Geoffrey: I try to make the name fit the character.  There’s a strong, fey, female character in Saxon who runs a stables.  I called her Eadlin Stodman, after the Anglo-Saxon for ‘little princess’ and ‘keeper of horses’.

Morgen: Ah bless. Who is your first reader – who do you first show your work to?

Geoffrey: Online, to like-minded authors.  Litopia has been good for that.  Some friends offer reciprocal full-book reads and that’s immensely valuable.

Morgen: I need to explore Litopia more – I show up on a Friday and Sunday night and then go again. It sounds like you’ve written a lot over the past few years, do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

Geoffrey: I edit over and over and over again, and still I miss errors because I’m too close to it or have lost the will to live.

Morgen: I know that feeling (four edits of my 117,540-word 2009 NaNo novel which I pared down to 105K, which was rejected by 9 agents, but now I’m ripping it apart into a novella and anthology so the fun begins again). What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write?

Geoffrey: Lots of time staring into space, or at the garden.  I have an arbour where I write when the weather’s fine – it’s also a great thinking spot.

Morgen: How lovely. One of my neighbour’s is having a/an (monstrous) extension built so mine’s hardly a haven at the moment, but was an inspiration for one of my Story A Day May pieces called ‘Over’ (they’re coming out as an eBook shortly by the way… sorry, shameless plug). Do you write on paper or do you prefer a computer?

Geoffrey: Big, scrawly, mind-map stuff on paper, then move to a computer when the architecture of a chapter is fixed in my head.

Morgen: What sort of music do you listen to when you write?

Geoffrey: Natural birdsong.  The garden’s song thrush can be distracting, but he’s wonderful for my mental state.

Morgen: How sweet. What point of view do you find most to your liking: first person or third person?

Geoffrey: I tend to write short stories in the first person; it’s easier to convey immediacy.  I’ll try to keep Guardian in first person for the same reason.  Saxon’s plot required two points of view, so that’s third person.

Morgen: Do you use prologues / epilogues? What do you think of the use of them?

Geoffrey: Not normally, but I did finish Saxon with an epilogue.  The plot is resolved in the penultimate chapter, but I wanted to leave the reader with a final, ethereal ‘sting’.

Morgen: Ooh intriguing… Do you have pieces of work that you think will never see light of day?

Geoffrey: Loads.  Some of them are still in my head.

Morgen: So they’ll get written sometime, that’s good… I guess? What’s your favourite / least favourite aspect of your writing life?

Geoffrey: Creating something you know is good, and having others enthuse with you.  I just wish you could bank enthusiasm.

Morgen: But hopefully that’s an ongoing thing. If anything, what has been your biggest surprise about writing?

Geoffrey: How much there is to learn.

Morgen: There is, isn’t there. I’ve been on loads of courses (the latest being Helen Hunt’s http://fictionisstrangerthanfact.blogspot.com women’s magazine short story course, which was great, yesterday!) And even top writers say they’re still learning. What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Geoffrey: If I ever stop being an aspiring writer, I’ll be qualified to say.

Morgen: Ah… see “Even top writers…” Having used the word ‘obsessed’ I don’t think you’ll stop. What do you like to read?

Geoffrey: Stuff with human depth.  Isabelle Allende, Paulo Coelho, Tracy Chevalier, Kate Mosse.

Morgen: One of my friends (who’s a reader rather than writer; one of the few!) LOVES Paulo Coelho. What do you do when you’re not writing? Any hobbies or party tricks?

Geoffrey: I play piano very badly, and I’m a lunatic on horseback.  I compete at a local, amateur level, but rather like my music, my riding has more enthusiasm than accuracy.

Morgen: I love horses (and your picture ). My mum was one of Stirling Moss’ (British racing driver) sister’s (Pat) grooms so I guess it was inevitable. Are there any writing-related websites and / or books that you find useful and would recommend?

Geoffrey: www.litopia.com

Morgen: I concur. In which country are you based and do you find this a help or hindrance with letting people know about your work?

Geoffrey: Based in the UK, but the online network of beta-readers includes writers in the USA and continental Europe.  Location doesn’t seem to be a factor.

Morgen: Absolutely, that’s what most interviewees say. Where can we find out about you and your work?

Geoffrey: www.geoffreyguiver.com

Morgen: What do you think the future holds for a writer?

Geoffrey: A lot of hard graft.  Online marketing seems to be a skill that’s as important as writing.

Morgen: It is, but not as fun / creative / quirky (delete as appropriate). Is there a question you’d like to ask me?

Geoffrey: Can you introduce me to a tame agent?

Morgen: The only ones that spring to mind are Litopia’s AgentPete (who I think takes new authors on very rarely but does get submissions), John Jarrold (http://www.johnjarrold.co.uk) who’s been at Verulam the last two years but I’m pretty sure he only takes fantasy and sci-fi. I met three (female) agents at Winchester in July (Jane Judd, Lorella Belli and Judith Murdoch) but they’re predominantly after crime and historical. I’d been warned that Judith was scary but she was really pleasant to me, but then we both know Sally Spedding so that broke the ice. I met Scott Pack (HarperCollins) at Verulam in February and he’s really friendly so you could try him. Well, thank you for this interview Geoffrey and hope to see you at Verulam next February.

I then invited Geoffrey to include an extract of his writing:

The mind can do a lot of thinking in its final moments.  Some strange corner of Fergus’s brain had time to know that the stag in the middle of the road was magnificent.  Shaggy-maned and bearing its antlers with all the poise of a medieval jousting helm, the beast had been staring downhill with its nose into the wind as if the last gust had carried the sound of a distant call.  At the first thump and shudder of the brakes it turned its head towards them, and did not move.  It merely glared at them over its shoulder so that the grizzled, moisture-matted pelt folded into its neck like the stole of an ancient king.

That same part of Fergus’s mind, the bit that wasn’t panicking and bracing his body for impact, wondered at the infinitesimal detail of the scene.  A light fog snorting from a greying muzzle.  Foliage, crystal sharp in the autumn patchwork of yellow-and-black, leaf-and-bark.  The vibrations in a raindrop on the windscreen as the ABS shuddered beneath them and they side-slipped over wet leaves with almost no check to their speed.

Geoffrey Guiver has been both a serviceman and a businessman, forging a career in international marketing before taking a career break to write.  The career break has since become a way of life.  He was the winner of the ‘Get Writing 2011’ prize and has just completed his first novel, Saxon.  Geoffrey lives with his wife in the Chiltern Hills between London and Oxford, and divides his time between writing and business consulting.  He is also an amateur musician and keen horse rider, passions which sometimes creep into his stories.

Update 2012: “Since our interview I have signed with an agent – Ian Drury of Shiel Land Associates – and at his request ‘Saxon’ has been renamed ‘Swanmaiden’.” Congratulations Geoffrey.

***

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

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You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).

The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

• Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
• Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group (http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934)
• Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group (http://scriptwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/319941328108017)
• Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group (http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445)

We look forward to reading your comments.

 

Author interview no.129 with writer Sarah Tanburn

Welcome to the one hundred and twenty-ninth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, directors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. And today’s is with speculative historical author (who dabbles in horror and non-fiction) Sarah Tanburn. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate Sarah further. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here.

Morgen: Hello Sarah. Please tell us something about yourself and how you came to be a writer.

Sarah: I wrote a lot as a youngster, mostly bad poetry, though I wrote an excruciating novel and tried to make a screenplay of the Ruritania novels.

Morgen: The first thing I read out in the very first creative writing workshop was a poem. When Sally and the rest of the room had finished critiquing it, it had more holes in it than Lancashire (Beatles fans will get this ) but I’m still very fond of it. Sorry, you were saying…

Sarah: Then life got in the way, and I stopped writing, except non-fiction for my work.  In 2003 my life changed dramatically;  I moved onto our boat, Roaring Girl, and I started working for myself.

Morgen: Ah ha ‘Roaring Girl’, I see now where your Litopia ID comes from.

Sarah: The changes also undammed all that creativity and one night I found myself on the marina breakwater imagining a woman standing inside a space ship as it descended to the surface of a planet.  Immediately, I knew this was the start of a novel, and an amazing new adventure.

Morgen: What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

Sarah: Mostly I write speculative and historical fiction, though I dabble in some horror and even non-genre, literary work.   I have two main projects in hand.  The first is a speculative fiction novel, The Melkjeven Commitment, of which the first chapter is posted on my writing blog.   The other is series of short stories, all in the first person, about women who went to sea under sail.  That collection has the working title Women of the Wind.  One of those stories, The Ocean is my Lover, can be downloaded from Ether Books if you use an ipad or iphone.

Morgen: Ooh I love short stories but sadly I have neither an iPad or iPhone. What have you had published to-date?

Sarah: I’ve had a couple of short stories published on line.  I love Ether Books, who are re-creating the short story for the ebook world, publishing tales which can be read easily on screen and in a short time.  I’m also really grateful to my pal Laura Wilkinson as she started a fab site at www.hagsharlotsheroines.com, and accepted work from me including book reviews, an essay on the value of science fiction, and some stories. The recently published River of Stones, edited by Fiona Robyn, and available from Amazon, has a piece from me in it.  Fiona has promoted the idea of small stones, short writing that is the record or product of an intense moment of paying attention.  Find out more at http://ariverofstones.blogspot.com.   The magazine, Snapshots of History: Stories from the Past has accepted one of my stories Blessed are the Peacemakers for publication this December, and I’m chuffed to bits about that.

Morgen: Yay! How much of the marketing do you do for your published works or indeed for yourself as a ‘brand’?

Sarah: I need to improve!  I started my writing blog late in 2010, and have really struggled to keep it consistent, which I know is the absolute requirement for blogging.

Morgen: There’s no doubt that having content makes all the difference and it’s thanks to you guys that I can put so much up… and I’d say (but then I’m a tad biased) it’s all good stuff too; quantity and quality… I’m very grateful.

Sarah: I am self-employed, and most years I spend four to six months travelling, but of course the last three months of 2010 were lean times for everyone.  I did loads of business marketing so 2011 has been frantic, which is great for the finances, but rubbish for both the writing and the travelling.  I prioritised actual story telling over blogging for a while.

Morgen: I should do but then I’ve written for a few years now so have plenty to edit and get out into the ether (keeping Rachel, my editor, in a job for a few months at least).

Sarah: Now life is calming down a little and I’m beginning to re-establish a routine which makes a bit more writing and marketing time. This interview is a big jump for me, to publicise myself as a writer.

Morgen: Oh great… I hope you get some lovely comments.

Sarah: I do have the writing blog and when we’re cruising, I keep a sailing blog, which a surprising number of people read.  (I should say that my main audience for that is our mothers, so nothing really bad ever happens, or I only write it up once it’s reached humorous anecdote stage.)  I’m on Facebook (though I have to accept you as a friend to see my details), and Twitter (#workthewind) and Linked In.  I use LI mostly for my work life, though I notice you, Morgen, refer to writing groups there, so maybe I need to explore it a little more.

Morgen: Oh yes they’re great. I belong to 11 writing-related groups (Book Marketing, Books & Writers, Creative Designers & Writers, Creative Writing Source, Fiction Writers Guild, NaNo, Published Authors Network, Write It Down, Writer’s Bureau, Writer’s Café, and Writers) and was declined from another group (no, don’t ask again). I won’t say which one here but it’s probably the only one I don’t belong to… and I fit both descriptions of it so not sure why; maybe they Googled ‘MorgAn Bailey’ and I thought I was a porn star.

Sarah: I am pretty protective of my ‘brand’ which is one advantage of having a really rare name.  In some ways, that’s an inhibition, but I try to see it as a real benefit in slowly sidling into the world of having a writing identity to bring to the market.

Morgen: I’d say so. It’s about people remembering you… there are only three or four MorgEn Baileys as far as I know so as long as people remember that… Have you won or been shortlisted in any competitions and do you think they help with a writer’s success?

Sarah: I won a competition on the hagsharlotsheroines site, which was a great boost early on.  A section of The Melkjeven Commitment was one of the 100 shortlisted debut novels from the Writers & Artists Yearbook in 2007, something I find very consoling when I need to keep the faith.

Morgen: Oh wow. The W&AY is the guru of guru guides in the UK. Well, done <pats Sarah on her back>

Sarah: I’m sure competitions help with both profile and confidence, as well as credits.  I keep missing the announcements though, and need to get better at making sure they arrive in the inbox.

Morgen: I can add you to my mailing list for my fortnightly handouts although I do end up putting the information on http://morgenbailey.wordpress.com/useful-info.

Sarah: Competitions have word limits (of course), and sometimes I don’t have anything that’s the right genre and length that’s ready at the right time.  If I planned better, I would be more effective at writing to the requirement, which would help.  Again, this is about making time not only to write, but to market.

Morgen: Indeed. And there’s always http://www.jbwb.co.uk and http://duotrope.com for market info. Do you write under a pseudonym?

Sarah: No. I see having a rare name as an advantage, so I want to use that.

Morgen: What Sarah? Oh, Tanburn. Yes, you’re right. Do you have an agent? Do you think they’re vital to an author’s success?

Sarah: I’d love to have an agent.  So few publishers now accept unsolicited submissions, so it’s vital to have someone fighting your corner.  I’m delighted to be published electronically, which is the obvious alternative strategy. I can be a bit of a geek, but I would still love to have a real, paper based book (or indeed more than one) out there on the shelves, and that seems impossible without either publishing (paying for, marketing, distributing) yourself or finding an agent, or at least not in the current state of the industry.

Morgen: I’m going the eBook route (with Rachel in my corner… I ought to go and check on her actually, feed her a little something from time to time ) but if an agent or published wanted my book. I had an email from a ‘publisher’ called ‘Just Fiction! Edition’ wanting to publish my book that’s on Authonomy. For some reason I didn’t get excited which is just as well as it turned out to be carefully selected spam. Talking of eBooks, are your books available as eBooks? If so what was your experience of that process? And do you read eBooks?

Sarah: My stories are, but not the book.  I do read ebooks, and I love my Kindle.  I travel a great deal and since I bought it in March, I’ve used it a lot.  Many people seem to see a Kindle as supplanting paper books, but that’s nonsense.  What they are is an addition, an alternative format.  I still read paper too; my next Woman of the Wind is Noah’s daughter-in-law, Adataneses.  I found a wonderful book about Jewish seafaring in ancient times which is full of helpful ideas and would never be available electronically. We are living in an extraordinarily exciting time for publishing, comparable to the invention of the press.  That led, amongst other things, to the availability of sacred texts (the Bible) for everyone, to translation and increased literacy, and hence the Reformation and the Enlightenment.  New formats and media, making the world of creativity and exploration more accessible, seem to me to be in principle a good thing.  It creates huge challenges for writers, readers and (most of all) for distributors such as bookshops and libraries.  We should explore those challenges and invent the new models, rather than stick our heads in the sand and hope it all goes away.

Morgen: I’m exploring. What was your first acceptance and is being accepted still a thrill?

Sarah: You could say editing my school magazine was first foray into publication.  Acceptances are great.  I’m a thrill seeker.

Morgen: I could, yes. I’m clearly not, as I’m rubbish at submitting so not so many acceptances (but not a huge amount of rejections either; 29 Speaking of which, have you had any rejections? If so, how do you deal with them?

Sarah: Many, like (I believe) most writers.  Not all rejections are the same.  I prefer ones which tell me a little about why this piece wasn’t accepted, because that helps me to improve.  I’m a bit peeved with agents whose websites say they’re open to new proposals, but whose refusals say they’re not reading at the moment.  Please save me the time and postage. I try to remain professional and open to the lessons from any rejection, and move on to the next story and the next opportunity.

Morgen: Good plan. What are you working on at the moment / next?

Sarah: I am writing the collection of stories, Women of the Wind.  Four are just about done, and there are three or four more to come.  They’re not that short, coming in at between 6,000 and 10,000 words, so seven or eight will be a book, even if I get more of them published individually.   I’ve had some publisher interest in the idea, but they need to be written first. Then I’m going back to The Melkjeven Commitment, particularly in the light of crits from Litopia, to do the fourteenth rewrite and then start submitting it again.

Morgen: Litopia crit… great. Do you manage to write every day? What’s the most you’ve written in a day?

Sarah: I don’t manage every day, because the need to earn a living gets in the way.

Morgen: I know, how annoying is that?

Sarah: But if I can live like a writer, which happens sometimes, I’ll write about 2000 words most days.  Of course, 1,999 of them may not survive overnight.

Morgen: What is your opinion of writer’s block? Do you ever suffer from it? If so, how do you ‘cure’ it?

Sarah: I don’t really suffer from it.  When I’m feeling stuck with a story or situation, I find it can be very helpful to write about something else completely.  I’ll find a prompt and get one with it.  That can be really simple;  I’m writing this on a train and we’re delayed next to a huge yard full of bricks.  Wow!  Who knew there were so many thousands of bricks in the Fens?  I could easily write something set in that strange, dusty, red place.

Morgen: Fens… Cambridge / Norfolk? I spent my birthday morning last month on a Norfolk beach (a 3-hour drive from me, so worth it… on the warmest day in August!)… and took loads of photos for potential eBook covers. Where do you get your inspiration from?

Sarah: Anywhere really.  I do subscribe to Nature and Science, and they’re great sources.  On this train, we’ve just been told the delay is due to cows on the line.  There’s inspiration right there.  I once got delayed on the Nairobi / Mombasa train (in Kenya) by elephants on the line.  That’s even better. I enjoy sometimes just taking two or three words and writing something that incorporates them.  Whale.  Daisy.  Crane.  Go.

Morgen: You’re on a train doing this? Wow, I think that’s got to be a first.

Sarah: Children’s story about a whale called ‘Daisy’ talking to a crane with a sore throat. A crane called… Albert. How did I do?

Morgen: Lovely… I’m constantly amazed what we come up with in our Monday night sessions from one word, a sentence beginning, keywords etc. Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Sarah: A bit of both.  In my work life, I write a lot of reports and policy documents, and it’s essential to structure such work, making sure complicated, technical material is accessible by the intended audience and fit for purpose.  When I got back to creative writing, I started out thinking I must escape that straitjacket, and just wrote whatever came.  Over time, I’ve found that’s terribly wasteful, both of my amazing prose and my scarce time.  Now, I will start with an idea of the character or the story which is a bit more than a seized image but less than a bunch of index cards detailing each chapter.  I can begin writing with that.  For historical fiction, it can be relatively straightforward.  Take Adataneses:  there’s going to be a flood and a rainbow and she’s going to survive.  The important part then is character:  who is this woman and how does she experience surviving the end of the world?

Plot becomes more important the longer the work.  A full-scale novel needs to be plotted, to have the rhythm and internal structure that comes from real attention to the order and pace of events.  I also find an awareness of plot helps enormously when editing and self-critting, to make sure the architecture of the piece is right.

Morgen: It sounds like you have this writing thing sussed. Do you have a method for creating your characters, their names and what do you think makes them believable?

Sarah: Characters tend to appear but may mutate enormously as I discover more about them, and their role in the story.  This can include gender, though some people stubbornly refuse to change.  I love the naming of characters, and work hard to associate names with the backstory, even if the backstory never ends up in the final piece.  The climatologist in The Melkjeven Commitment, who is a minor player in the novel, is called Jyoshi.  It’s derived from the Swahili for weather, and reflects his Muslim heritage as well as his profession. Detail and motivation make characters believable, I find.  At a workshop once I was given an exercise which asked us to describe the five things the character always carried with them, and five rituals or actions they undertook every day.  That’s great; even thinking about how a person cleans her teeth can tell you so much about them, how they operate in their environment and why.

Morgen: Ooh, five things (noted). Do you write any non-fiction, if so, how do you decide what to write about?

Sarah: I write tons of non-fiction, on many topics of public policy, but I don’t think that’s what you meant.  On the blogs, I write what comes up.  The sailblog is easy enough, because it’s based on what’s happening.  On the writing blog it’s a mixture of (relevant) events and readings or musings that spark me off.

Morgen: And poetry, do you write to form or free verse? What would you say is the difference between a piece of prose and a prose poem? Why do you think poetry is so popular and yet so poorly paid?

Sarah: I don’t write poetry.  Some of my work might fall into the prose poem category, but that always feels a little pretentious to me.  I think poetry has two attractions to many writers.  It’s relatively short, so you can concentrate on it and hone it in your head.  And of course it’s easier in many ways to perform.  There’s a symbiosis between writer’s cafes and other such events and the growth of poetry, which is not so effective for even very short prose.

Morgen: I love short stuff but poetry? Sorry, don’t get it. I leave that to the poets (I have a few great ones in my group – that sounds vague but two do nothing else but others do a bit of allsorts). Talking critique, who is your first reader – who do you first show your work to?

Sarah: Usually my writing group in Ipswich.  I would like to find at least one good online writing group, which I could fit in with travelling and working, but haven’t succeeded so far.

Morgen: Oh dear… come to Northampton. Do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

Sarah: I edit and edit and edit.  I often line edit the last section of the previous session’s writing before I start the next days work.  I edit and review at least once (often many times) before I submit a piece to anyone.  I re-do in the light of feedback.  I often review a piece if I’m resubmitting.  So my challenge is not losing that first excitement and pace.

Morgen: How much research do you have to do for your writing? Have you ever received feedback from your readers?

Sarah: Both historical and speculative fiction need a lot of research.  What meat did the Vikings have in Greenland?  How heavy is the largest squid known in the oceans of Earth?  I am a magpie for all sorts of facts, and am lucky enough to have a pretty good memory and reasonable filing system.  Feedback suggests I can overweight fiction with the research, and I am still learning to stand back from all the information. There’s a wonderful comment by Hemingway, in his interview for the Paris Review, where he tells us to leave out what we know.  He says: I’ve seen the marlin mate and know about that. So I leave that out…. All the stories I know from the fishing village I leave out. But the knowledge is what makes the underwater part of the iceberg. (The whole interview is at http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/4825/the-art-of-fiction-no-21-ernest-hemingway.)   I remind myself of this comment all the time.

Morgen: Another noted, thanks for that. What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write?

Sarah: I aim to enable three stages, which often overlap, and cycle around each other for a while.  The first is essentially noticing things, and jotting them down.  Bits of notes, ideas, images, flashes of inspiration.  Another stage often happens in bed at night, or during a long stint at the helm of a boat, or on a long walk.  That’s dreamlike, episodic, and very visual.  This stage is very important to me, and may be why a common piece of feedback for me is that my writing is quite film-like, though I’m not very knowledgeable about film at all.  These are the most creative, lucky stages. Then there’s conscious planning and preparation.  What research I need to answer a question.  Have I checked the timeline, for example making sure I’ve allowed long enough for my characters to get from A to B? Ideally a lot of this has happened before I start writing.  When it has, then the story will be written fast, and (I believe) better.  I will capture that excitement and voice, without sacrificing consistency and accuracy.    Because my life is a bit fragmented, with lots of other adventures and deadlines happening, the whole iterative cycle doesn’t happen often enough, which creates more re-writing and editing.

Morgen: Yep, very thorough. Do you write on paper or do you prefer a computer?

Sarah: I write with what I have.  I like to write at a computer because it’s easier to edit but drafts, particularly of sticky scenes, are often handwritten first. When we’re cruising, we live off the grid and generate our own power (solar and wind) and that means I write a lot more in long hand and edit on paper before moving to a computer.  When I’m living ashore, I write earlier drafts on the screen, because I can.

Morgen: Some writers like quiet, others the noise of a coffee shop etc. Do you listen to music or have noise around you when you write or do you need silence?

Sarah: I like to start in relative quiet, but once I get going, you can drop the dustbin by my ears and I won’t notice.  I find the spoken word very distracting, particularly my favourite Radio 4, so that must be turned off (to my partner’s annoyance.)

Morgen: I love that ‘dustbin’ reference. What point of view do you find most to your liking: first person or third person? Have you ever tried second person?

Sarah: That depends on the story, the character, the tense.  I’ve never tried second person, and I often find it very annoying to read.

Morgen: Longer passages certainly can. I ought to post one of my second person pieces. I love writing it, really love writing it so would urge every writer to at least have a go. Some people do hate it. Do you use prologues / epilogues? What do you think of the use of them?

Sarah: I have used them, but (so far) have always done away with them in the end.  I suspect they are often a darling the author just cannot bear to kill.

Morgen: Ah yes, ‘’kill your darlings’ (or in the States I think it’s ‘slaughter your babies’). Do you have pieces of work that you think will never see light of day?

Sarah: Loads.  Some of them I will never want to publish.

Morgen: I have at least one of those; a very therapeutic piece. What’s your favourite / least favourite aspect of your writing life?

Sarah: Favourite is the creation of something from nothing, the discovery of the new, the feeling that one is building the narrative, mining the story from the morass of possibilities.  Least favourite?  That has to be not getting paid for it.  If I earned enough money at it, I could do it more.

Morgen: Snap. If anything, what has been your biggest surprise about writing?

Sarah: I realised I would have to kill a favourite character so that the main character would end up where she needed to be.  I wept for days, and I was astonished at the emotion I had invested.

Morgen: Ah… JK Rowling was going to kill off a particular character but he / she didn’t want to be killed so she killed another… it’s funny how that works. What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Sarah: Keep going.

Morgen: Absolutely. What do you like to read?

Sarah: I’ll read anything.  (Bleach bottles.  Twitter.)  I recommend that writers read, especially in their chosen genre or field.  I enjoy history, speculative fiction, literary fiction, some biography.  I loved Sarah Maitland’s Silence, which I’ve just finished, and Stella Duffy’s Theodora.  Chris Moore’s Fool (which I bought after he appeared on Litopia After Dark) makes me LOL in public. For writers, I always recommend Francine Prose’s Reading Like a Writer, and the Paris Review interviews.   I regularly refer to various grammar texts, including Strunk & White’s Elements of Style and Lynne Truss’s Eats Shoots and Leaves.

Morgen: Great choices, thank you. I have loads of Stella’s books – I met her at Oundle Lit Fest last year… she’s great. What do you do when you’re not writing? Any hobbies or party tricks?

Sarah: I sail, spending (most years) between four and six months a year cruising in the Mediterranean.  We’ve just completed the layout of our garden, so I’m enjoying the planting.  I do have to work, too.  If anyone wants to know about my work providing strategic support around cultural, environmental and regeneration services, my biz site is at http://www.workthewind.com.

Morgen: My garden is a work in progress but one of my Monday nighters is a HUGE help (and an expert) so we swap expertise on Mondays. I’ve bought her a short story course… which is, ooh about an hour after this comes out. Are there any writing-related websites and/or books that you find useful and would recommend?

Sarah: So many, so little time.  I’ve really cut back to create time for my own writing.  The most important for me is www.litopia.com, which I’ve found a great source of friendship, support and bracing criticism.

Morgen: I need to go on it more often. I’m the ultimate Litopia Literary Tart; I show up on a Friday and Sunday night, get what I want out of it and go back into the night.

Sarah: I find I use Wikipedia a lot.  Of course you have to check the authority of what you find, but it’s a fabulous resource for any writer.  I subscribe to Mslexia and love the resources on www.mslexia.co.uk.  There’s a lot of good stuff on the blog at www.bubblecow.co.uk.

Morgen: Ah yes, BubbleCow – I have a cuppa (cherry cordial, actually, it was lovely) the other day with short story author (tutor, columnist etc) Helen Hunt – who’s course it is today actually – and she mentioned them. She also recommended them in her interview so I must check them out. There are loads of good blogs and ezines out there, so it’s really difficult to single out a few.  People need to explore the web and find the voices they like. In which country are you based and do you find this a help or hindrance with letting people know about your work?

Sarah: I’m in the UK, unless I’m cruising or visiting my partner’s family in NZ.  So far, travelling so much has not been a problem.  Maybe it would be if I needed to do a bookshop tour in the UK, or walk the red carpet at a Hollywood premier.  I’ll worry about that when it happens.

Morgen: I like the fact you use ‘when’. Are you on any forums or networking sites? If so, how invaluable do you find them?

Sarah: These days, I only regularly go to Litopia.  Even there I’ve been quiet the last few months, though I try really hard to get to their radio shows at broadcast time on Fridays and Sundays, because I love the interaction of the chatroom.

Morgen: Isn’t it great! Where can we find out about you and your work?

Sarah: Visit my blog at http://www.sarahtanburn.wordpress.com.  If you want to get in touch, my email is sarah.tanburn@workthewind.com.  If you want to be friends on Facebook, look me up, but mention you are a writer, and how you heard about me.

Morgen: Ah WordPress, good taste. What do you think the future holds for a writer?

Sarah: A writer?  This writer, or JK Rowling?  There isn’t a single answer.   The foreseeable future will need us to recognise a changing market both in distribution and readers’ expectations.  For all writers, the future involves long, solitary hours chuckling or weeping or staring out of the windows.

Morgen: But more control over I lives and that really appeals to me. Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

Sarah: Boring but important: look after your workstation. I’m having physio for bad pain after a long writing bout to strict deadlines. Less boring and just as important: giving good crits and feedback helps me to self-edit.  I hope that works for you too.

Morgen: I get sciatica so definitely important. Is there a question you’d like to ask me?

Sarah: How do you manage the formidable discipline that your blog and site represent?  Awesome!

Morgen: Thank you. 20+ years as a secretary helps with the organisational side, short nights help with the ‘getting it all done’ but I try and keep on top of it as I go along. Thank you Sarah.

I then invited Sarah to include an extract of her writing and this is… Fragment (from the secret diary of my pen)

Lines of black trail, inescapable, inevitable.  My twitching, scraping life spells out the darkness: filling up, spilling over.  Once gone, excreted, vomited, I care little.  An occasional tweak, sharp lines, curlicues in comers, a jabbed addition, no more.  Moving is the point.

It’s always black.  I’m bored with black but return to its simple elegance after brief flirtations with blue, purple, green or even, once, red.  Black is less distracting and more efficient.  It doesn’t catch the eye but fills it, embeds itself, immoveable. 

Blue is transmutable, fluid, malleable, slippery.  I don’t like blue; it is effete.

Green now:  I liked green once.  It appeared, smug, in official margins in an authoritative way, offering ambitious opportunities to cover suspiciously empty space.  But fashions change and now it is too often the colour of scrawly, loopy swoops inappropriate to my aspirations. 

Purple, despite its venerable legacies, suffers from the same image failure, and is difficult to find.  I may take a respite weekend, but I do not need long-term care during a violet-hunt.

Red.  Ah!  I hanker for red, the alarming splash across the sombre remains, the touch of it warming my cold trail long left behind.  I love red.

***

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

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The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

• Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
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We look forward to reading your comments.

 

Author interview no.108 with crime and thriller novelist Graham Hurley

Welcome to the one hundred and eighth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, directors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. Today’s is with crime / thriller novelist Graham Hurley. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate the author further. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here.

Morgen: Hello Graham. Thank you for joining me today. Please tell us something about yourself and how you came to be a writer.

Graham: Think post-war Britain.  Imagine a household without television.  Invent a dad mad about classical music.  Picture that intimate semi-circle of armchairs drawn up around the steam radio.  And then listen to the naked feet of yours truly retreating upstairs for an early night.  Always with an armful of books.  And a torch.

Morgen: I blame me having to wear glasses (not that it bothers me that I do, it’s supposed to indicate intelligence after all) on a torch… and Stephen King under my duvet as a teenager – or it might even have been sheets rather than duvet back then. What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

Graham: I’ve always been fascinated by story, by stuff happening.  As a kid the word I used was adventure.  A lot of it came from the war.  In the early Fifties people had given themselves time to sort their memories out and pass on what had happened to them – either on active service (like my Dad) or (in my Mum’s case) under the bombs in London.  Some of this stuff was anecdotal, other narratives found their way into movies or books (both fiction and non-fiction). I lapped it all up.  The magic of story.  Totally irresistible (thus the torch).  Genres?  Once I was published, I slipped into the box marked “International Thriller Writer”.  That was a huge adventure and sustained seven books.  Then I wrote a couple of first-person thrillers seen through the eyes of two separate women.  Big contrast but – in their own way – enormously challenging.  Finally came an invitation from Orion to plunge into crime fiction with a series based in Portsmouth, where we lived.

Morgen: Go Pompey! I’m not a football fan, at all, but have caught some of your comments about them from time to time. I knew they were having a blip last year (2010) but looking at Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portsmouth_F.C.) they’re still plodding on. Sorry, off-topic. You were saying…

Graham: I’m not a great fan of crime fiction and, to be frank, I had a lot of initial reservations but this particular genre box turned out to be far less claustrophobic than I’d imagined. Portsmouth is a gift to any working novelist, the UK writ small, and early on it occurred to me that here was an early example of a society in the process of disintegration. Cops are frequently first-person witnesses at this carnival of self-destruction and as the series developed I managed to create a powerful undertow of social (and thus political) unease.  There was also a technical challenge I had to face as a writer because I’d always worked within the framework of one-off stories.  Series writing can be tricky but – like a good dinner party – the trick lies in the guest list.  These people have to combust over a significant number of books.  And, dare I say it, they do.

Morgen: You certainly can. What’s a plot without strong characters? You have an extensive catalogue, what have you had published to-date? Can you remember where you saw your first book on the shelves?

Graham: WHSmith’s, Southsea shopping precinct, a wet Wednesday morning in 1988.  Three weeks later the book was still there.  I always thought that the ink drying on your first publishing contract was the battle won.  How wrong was I?  To date, incidentally, I’ve published twenty-six books, two of them non-fiction.

Morgen: 26, my goodness. You must write quickly. You mentioned in one of your emails to me that you’ve seen someone reading your book on a train… have you ever spotted any of your books in an unusual location?

Graham: Vang Vieng, Laos, in the hands of a Buddhist monk.  Extraordinary moment.

Morgen: I hope he was enjoying it. How much of the marketing do you do for your published works or indeed for yourself as a ‘brand’?

Graham: Marketing, alas, is what you have to do to get that single first book off the shelf of the Southsea WHSmith’s (see above).  The big publicity push used to be part of the publisher’s commitment, and if you’re lucky enough to be charting in the Top Ten, it still is.  But for the majority of today’s published mid-list writers, most of the publishing budget is spent on getting your bookshelf space.  The rest is down to you.  With social messaging and all the rest that’s a more interesting ask than it used to be but the deafening clamour that passes for today’s cyber-culture makes your voice one of millions.  Thank God for blogs.

Morgen: I love having one and I’m surprised how much difference they make (hits to my website rather than sales of books, as mine aren’t ready yet). Have you won or been shortlisted in any competitions and do you think they help with a writer’s success?

Graham: I’ve been short-listed twice for the Theakstons and have just won a national prize for a novella.  This kind of stuff can work wonders in-house and often badges subsequent editions of the paperback.  Does it work?  Do readers take notice?  Some definitely do.  The rest?  I wonder.

Morgen: I’d say something as well known (in the UK anyway) as Theakston’s must make a dent. Like the Bridport for short story authors (which I must enter next year!). Oh, and congrats on the novella. Woo hoo! Do you write under a pseudonym? Do you think they make a difference to an author’s profile?

Graham: I don’t write under another name and I’m not sure I ever would.  The authors for whom I have real respect are the guys who – by and large – keep a low public profile.  John Le Carré is one of them.  But – hey – his real name is David Cornwell.  And he has this to say on his website:  “A good writer is an expert on nothing except himself. And on that subject, if he is wise, he holds his tongue.”.  Excellent advice.

Morgen: Do you have an agent? Do you think they’re vital to an author’s success?

Graham: I’ve had a number of agents over the years, and in between I’ve represented myself. But if you’re new to the publishing game, and you’re offered a contract, you’d be crazy not to seek representation.

Morgen: I’d agree but I think the hurdle for most newbies is getting agents to pay attention. Have a publisher’s contract wafted in their faces would, I’d say, make them sit up and listen.

Graham: A good agent can make a huge difference by getting you a reasonable deal in the first place and by latterly holding the ring between you and your publisher.  One caveat: e-publishing threatens to make a bonfire of all the old nostrums.  And in some respects agents are as challenged by this development as publishers.

Morgen: I’ve involved in Radio Litopia and it’s probably the most talked about topic. Most of us in the chatroom are unrepresented / newbies so we’re interested and Litopia is run by an agent (who never touts, by the way, and like most agents, he’s fussy) so it’s bound to crop up. Are your books available as eBooks? If so what was your experience of that process? And do you read eBooks?

Graham:  Yes, most of my books are available as e-books.  For readers, laying aside the print / screen debate,  the e-revolution can only be good (imagine sitting on a train and downloading Nostromo or Bleak House onto your Kindle – for zilch – because you fancied it).  For would-be novelists, distribution platforms like The Kindle Store also short-circuit the desperate business of trying to find a publisher.  But you still have – somehow – to get yourself noticed.  The clamour, again.  Your voice amongst millions of others.

Morgen: A lot of discussions (I’m on Linkedin) are about this and I think that is the worry for most newcomers (I’m in that process) but I still think it relies on reviews. Someone can only have so many friends and family. If 500 people give it a 5-star then the bulk of those are going to be independent. That’s the hope anyway. What was your first acceptance and is being accepted still a thrill?

Graham: My first acceptance came relatively late.  I’d written a couple of mercifully unpublished novels as a teenager, gone to university (which hatched a couple more), then laid the whole thing aside while I ducked into TV documentary-making for a couple of decades.  Towards the end of that period, afloat in the North Atlantic looking for the wreck of the Titanic, I had plenty of time to dream up an idea or two and one of these fantasies became a six-part drama commission for ITV (“Rules of Engagement”).  That led pretty much instantaneously to a two-book contract for Macmillan… and I’ve done a book a year ever since.  Was I thrilled when my agent (Carole Blake) phoned with the news from PanMac?  Just a bit…

Morgen: 26 books, a book a year… I’d say not so late (I’m 44 and although I’ve written 4.5 they’ve not been published… yet). Have you had any rejections? If so, how do you deal with them?

Graham: Loads.  And they still happen (chiefly in the field of film and TV).  How do I deal with them?  By muttering a quiet prayer for the name at the bottom of the e-mail and moving swiftly on.

Morgen: A prayer because you’ll use them in a tortuous manner in a forthcoming book? We met at a book talk you hosted at Northampton library in September 2009 has much changed in your writing world since then?

Graham:  Yes.  My books have always sold OK in France and we’ve attended a thousand and one crime festivals, which are always a delight.  Recently, my Faraday crime series has been bought by French TV on a one-book-per-film basis and last week I saw the first two DVDs.  They’ve done me (and Faraday) proud.

Morgen: I bet that was such a thrill. What are you working on at the moment / next?

Graham:  I’m shortly going to embark on a spin-off crime series after the end of the Pompey-based Faraday books (of which there are twelve).  My guys were getting far too old to be plausible cops (in a series which is badged by its authenticity)…

Morgen: Mark Billingham was on Litopia last night and was talking about ageing Thorne, prompted by a question in the chat room, and said he’s stopped ageing him because he didn’t want to retire him. Ian Rankin aged Rebus in real time and I think by 15 books he was probably pleased to move on to someone else. Authenticity is vital so I don’t blame you one bit.

Graham: …plus Lin and I have moved west and no longer live in Pompey.  The new series will feature young D/S Jimmy Suttle and – as ever – it’s been a delight to get stuck into the research.

Morgen: You love research… yuk, you can do mine for me then.

Graham: Suttle will be joining one of Devon and Cornwall’s Major Crime Investigation Teams, based in Exeter, and the debut title is “Western Approaches”. These will be tightly-drawn stories, character-driven, less freighted with all the procedural clutter. Can’t wait to lift the pen in anger.

Morgen: Ah, so do you write on paper or do you prefer a computer?

Graham:  PC most of the time.  Paper on trains and in pubs.

Morgen: Pubs… what a great excuse. “Just going to the office, dear.” Do you manage to write every day? What’s the most you’ve written in a day?

Graham:  I write between the end of October and Christmas, with a month reserved thereafter for a second draft.  The rest of the year we go travelling (ancient camper) and offshore rowing with an amazing bunch of guys who’ve become a second family.  Good crack.  Excellent scenery.  Superb pubs.  The most I’ve written in a day?  19,000 words, against a savage deadline.

Morgen: Wow wee. Your computer must have been smoking. So this is probably a redundant question… what is your opinion of writer’s block? Do you ever suffer from it?

Graham: Mercifully, it’s never happened.  If it did, I guess I’d row harder.

Morgen: Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Graham:  Broadly speaking, I know where the book begins and ends.  As a series develops, I get to know the characters on first name terms and if the thing’s working properly,  they take responsibility for the middle bits.

Morgen: I love it when that happens.

Graham: This dynamic, incidentally, often changes the book’s intended  destination – and always for the better.  That might sound fanciful but it’s true.

Morgen: Not at all to me. To a non-write maybe but then I think even a non-writer who’s an avid reader would understand especially when a good book starts to feel real. Talking of characters, do you have a method for creating them, their names and what do you think makes them believable?

Graham: These are often people I have to live with for some time (in the case of the Faraday series, more than a decade), so they have to be interesting, self-motivating,  and – to me at least – real.  Sometimes I nick bits and pieces of people I know and glue the bits together in odd combinations. Sometimes I clock a face in a pub or on a train and let the odd snatch of overheard dialogue do the rest. Other times, my characters come from literally nowhere.  This latter process, as you might expect, is mysterious and slightly troubling.  Writers might be solitary by nature but their heads are full of other people.

Morgen: Earwigging is great isn’t it? And my characters keep me company, especially when the dog is asleep in the other room. Who is your first reader – who do you first show your work to?

Graham: My wife, Lin.  A savagely honest critic.

Morgen: Perfect. Unpaid, close to hand and doesn’t pull her punches. I have an editor so but have you thought of hiring her out when you don’t need her skills? Speaking of editing, do you do a lot or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

Graham:  I write from about nine in the morning until six in the evening.  Then we have a couple of beers and I cook supper.

Morgen: Wow, a writer and chef… do you hire yourself out?

Graham: After that I’ll go back upstairs and re-read the day’s work before wading in with a revision or three.  The beers give me a different perspective.  Like I’ve become someone else.  Never fails.  Do I do much editing beyond that?  No.

Morgen: What a shame I don’t like beer. I wonder if Bailey’s or Southern Comfort would have the same effect. You mentioned research earlier, how much research do you have to do for your writing? Have you ever received feedback from your readers?

Graham:  I do huge amounts of research, chiefly because I believe that most fiction is an act of trespass and the least you owe the world you’ve hi-jacked is some kind of attempt to understand it (or at least get it right).  This is especially true with crime fiction, both in terms of the good guys and the not-so-good guys.  You’d be amazed at the number of unpublished MSS I get from would-be crime writers who wouldn’t dream of risking a conversation with a working cop.  Is this bottling out or simple laziness?  I dunno…

Morgen: Maybe naivety? It wouldn’t occur to me that people send you their manuscripts. Wow (I’ve used that word a lot today haven’t I… note to self, get my thesaurus). What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write?

Graham:  Boringly mundane.  Rub eyes, check the Guardian website, rub eyes again,  read yesterday’s last paragraph,  plunge in.

Morgen: I hope you don’t rub your eyes too hard, my optician told me a scary story once… now there’s a plot. Some writers like quiet, others the noise of a coffee shop etc. Do you listen to music or have noise around you when you write or do you need silence?

Graham:  Silence.  I love music, especially classical music, but would hate to dilute the pleasure with writing – which is concentration of a totally different kind.

Morgen: I go for classical. That said I’m sitting here in silence (with aforementioned dog on my lap which makes typing really easy!). Ok, play button… What point of view do you find most to your liking: first person or third person?

Graham:  Depends.  Third person is really effective if you want to ping the narrative from character to character and push the story along whereas first person becomes a strange kind of journey into someone else’s head.  If you’ve chosen (created?) the right head, of course, the possibilities can be limitless…which is, in itself, slightly spooky.

Morgen: There was a brilliant film at the flicks earlier this year called ‘Limitless’, superb. Ah, thanks dog. He’s just got down, decided it wasn’t comfortable, clearly. Do you use prologues / epilogues? What do you think of the use of them? Oh great, squeaky toy and Saint-Sans. Yes, prologues, epilogues…

Graham:  I love them.  It’s a cliché, I know, but the first page of any book is really important – just like the last – and if you get off to a flying start it gives you an astronomical fix that will shape the entire journey.

Morgen: I agree. I’m not an ‘oguer’ but hook and climax are the pivotal strengths of a book. Do you have pieces of work that you think will never see light of day?

Graham:  Many.

Morgen: OK. Nuff sed. What’s your favourite / least favourite aspect of your writing life?

Graham:  Favourite?  The solitude and the opportunity for a spot of serious control freakery.  Least favourite?  Pass…

Morgen: Yay, nothing you don’t like. Oh yes, you love research. I love solitude too, I’d be a hermit if I could, although I love going out with the dog. Oh, speak of the devil, you want to play? In a minute? OK? Thanks. Sorry Graham. If anything, what has been your biggest surprise about writing?

Graham:  That the ideas, and – so far – the readers, keep coming.

Morgen: That’s want every writer dreams of, I’d say. What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Graham:  Keep at it.  The joy of a really effective sentence, or a passage of dialogue, or something that takes you utterly by surprise outweighs anything else.  Forget the glittering prizes and those posters on the tube.  Writing remains one of life’s true mysteries.  Enjoy.

Morgen: And hopefully we all do. I love it when I’ve written something I really love and sit here clapping to myself – the advantage of having a dog rather than human company, although it sounds like Lin would understand. What do you like to read? Any authors you could recommend?

Graham:  Early John Le Carré.  Justin Cartwright.  Graham Greene. Alan Furst.

Morgen: What do you do when you’re not writing? Any hobbies or party tricks?

Graham:  We row. And row. And drink. And row again. And head the camper south.

Morgen: You’re based in the UK, do you find this a help or hindrance with letting people know about your work?

Graham:  No.  Thanks to the I/net.

Morgen: Isn’t it great! Are you on any forums or networking sites? If so, how valuable do you find them?

Graham:  I’m afraid I’m not.  They drive me nuts.  I haven’t even got a mobile.

Morgen: That’s why you write so many books, I guess, they do eat time. Your website is http://www.grahamhurley.co.uk. Are there other places where we can we out about you and your writing?

Graham:  There are loads of entries on the I/net, which might be useful, and just now I’m basking in a newly-designed website which is bringing in lots of new readers.  Check it out!!

Morgen: Yes, please do. What do you think the future holds for a writer?

Graham:  To be honest, I’m not sure.  My own view is that writing is a kind of virus.  If you’ve got it, it’s extremely hard to get rid of it and I know countless writers who labour on in the sure knowledge that they’ll never find a publisher.  Yet they still do it.  Why?  Because it’s one of the few creative areas left that is cheap, low-tech and offers an almost limitless sense of imaginative possibility.  Get stuck into a book (as a writer, rather than a reader) and you start playing God.  Anything can happen.  And often does.

Morgen: And that’s what I love. You never know what’s going to come out but it’s a thrill a minute (a second) for me. I so value the time I spend writing. Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

Graham:  How come the one shop left untouched in the recent looting on Clapham High Street was Waterstone’s?

Morgen: Because books are too sacred to damage? Looters with taste? Or on the flipside they can’t read? Is there anything you’d like to ask me?

Graham: You were one of four in the audience at Northampton Library.  Hope I didn’t disappoint.

Morgen: Absolutely not – fond memories of the evening and actually one of the early ones that got me hooked meeting ‘real’ authors. There were some empty chairs but definitely more of us than that including, I remember, a rather vocal lady (even more enthusiastic than me) who had read your books (as I’m shamefully yet to do but I do have nine of them and loved Nocturne so I’m part-way there ). I had three when we met and you kindly signed one to my German friend Heike which went off to her shortly after that and you can imagine how thrilled she was… Thank you Graham.

I then invited Graham to include an excerpt of his writing:

What follows is an imagining.  It was sparked by the events that followed my father’s death, and it’s based on the months of reading, archival research, and face-to-face conversations that followed.  As Dad’s only daughter, for reasons that I still can’t explain to myself, it felt right for me to try and connect the many dots that comprise the strangeness of his life.  The dates and the locations are real, as was the vicious little eddy of history that swept him into captivity.  The rest, I confess at once, is my take on what may have happened.  The closer I shadowed my father’s wartime journey, the better I felt I understood the man he became.  That I may also have stumbled on a larger truth – that we are all the prisoners of our past – is for you to judge.

Morgen: Thank you again Graham and now I’m (finally) getting involved in writing crime (readers of some of my previous interviews will know that I was told by agent Judith Murdoch “you’re a crime writer, you need to write crime” at the July 2011 Winchester Writers Conference), a genre I’ve read for years, I hope to see you again before too long. The hound and I are off to the park now.

***

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

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As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).

The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

• Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
• Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group (http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934)
• Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group (http://scriptwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/319941328108017)
• Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group (http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445)

We look forward to reading your comments.

 

Author interview no.100 with (me, myself and I) multi-genre writer Morgen Bailey

Welcome to the one hundredth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. Back in interview no. 43, Winn Smith asked who was going to interview me (Teresa Morrow and Who Hub already have and Winn will be later this month) but I thought seeing as the centennial interview falls on my birthday (no presents please ) I’d interview myself. As you do. I normally say that if you like what you read, please do go and investigate the author further but if you feel you know enough already from my blog or website then don’t feel obliged… unless you’d really like to. A list of my fellow interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here.

Morgen: Hello, Morgen. Firstly happy birthday.

Morgen: Thank you. I’m having a lovely day so far. Just back from 24 hours at Norfolk and had a wonderful time watching the dog eating waves. Before we begin, I’d just like to say what a pleasure it is being here.

Morgen: Ah, that’s nice, you can come again. OK, so… you know how these interviews start…

Morgen: I do. I need to tell you something about myself and how I came to be a writer.

Morgen: That’s it.

Morgen: I’ll warn you now that I do tend to waffle.

Morgen: That’s OK. I’ve got a long blog home page.

Morgen: So just tell me if I’m…

Morgen: You are… your first answer please?

Morgen: Oh yes (what a hard taskmistress, is she like this with everyone?). I’m a… 44-year old (today, hoorah!) single white female (that was a brilliant film, one whose follow-up was decidedly dodgy as they often are).

Morgen: (coughs)

Morgen: Sorry yes… I did warn you. I live in Northampton, England in a 1930s house with my Jack Russell / Cairn (and a bit of everything else) dog.

Morgen: He’s very cute.

Morgen: Thank you. He has big brown eyes and he’s not afraid to use them.

Morgen: And you came to be a writer how?

Morgen: Sorry. I’ll try to behave from now on.

Morgen: Please do.

Morgen: This talking to myself is feeling weirdly easy.

Morgen: You were saying?

Morgen: Sorry. Yes. Short and sweet: moved counties c. 15 years ago. Didn’t know anyone. I worked as a temp in the day, went to evening college, brushed up on the languages, then computer skills then September 2005 I looked for something else in the University prospectus and there was creative writing – a Monday night critique workshop with Sally Spedding…

Morgen: Who I interviewed recently on my podcast.

Morgen: You did. Special episode 32. That was fun.

Morgen: And what genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

Morgen: Now there’s a question.

Morgen: Uh oh.

Morgen: A bit of everything.

Morgen: That wasn’t so painful. Dare I ask if you’d like to elaborate… just a little?

Morgen: Sure. Four and a bit novels (lad lit, general, chick lit, sort of lad lit and part of a dark one) and lots of short stories, monologues being my favourite.

Morgen: So humour and crime?

Morgen: The last one is sort of crime. I’ll have to come back to you on that one.

Morgen: OK.

Morgen: And I have written poetry but…

Morgen: but?

Morgen: The poets reading this are going to shout at me…

Morgen: I’m sure they won’t.

Morgen: I don’t ‘get’ poetry.

Morgen: Ah.

Morgen: I’ve written some. There’s an autobiographical poem on my blog’s My writing page. The first piece I read out at Sally’s workshop was a humorous piece of a family’s evening told through the eyes of a six-month-old boy. I’m still fond of it and should do something with it.

Morgen: Ahhh…

Morgen: But it got shot down in flames.

Morgen: Oh dear.

Morgen: I nearly didn’t go back to the group.

Morgen: Oh no.

Morgen: But I thought “I’ll show them, I’ll write something better”.

Morgen: And you did?

Morgen: I did. Can’t remember what now but it must have gone down well as I kept going back and it’s what led me here.

Morgen: What have you had published to-date?

Morgen: Apart from a writing workbook which is ready to roll, I’m working on a load of short stories and rejigging the novels (into novellas and possibly an anthology for the chick lit, picking out the best half a dozen or so characters) as eBooks…

Morgen: there were more characters than that then?

Morgen: Yes. Izzy met one a day (for a month) with another dozen at mid-month speed dating event.

Morgen: Ouch, that’s a lot for one novel.

Morgen: It is but I’m fond of them all (some are very peculiar) and will use them all at some stage, but just split them out into other things… but to answer your question…

Morgen: If you wouldn’t mind…

Morgen: I’ve had some competition successes and been published in Woman’s Weekly and NAWG Link magazine but I’m rubbish at submitting which is a fairly major part of getting things published, isn’t it?

Morgen: It does help.

Morgen: But recently fellow interviewees Nathan Weaver (LINK) published a self-contained (soon to be the beginning of a) dark story I wrote for http://storyaday.org back in May 2011 called ‘The Threadbare Girl’ (which I’m going to include in one or two of the eBook anthologies – one for the Story A Day and probably the full thing in another) and Tia Bach published an article I wrote for her on my NaNoWriMo experience. Neal James has another short story (a dark second person) appearing on his blog in January 2012 which will be exciting (for me anyway).  I’ve got a short story going into October’s Link and I’ve been asked to write another couple of articles so it’s all going swimmingly.

Morgen: You mentioned NaNoWriMo, the 50,000+ words every November. How many times have you done that?

Morgen: Three: 2008, 2009 and 2010. And I plan to keep doing it even though I’m concentrating on short stories.

Morgen: Did you ‘win’ each time?

Morgen: I did. I scraped through in 2008 (53,000) and 2010 (51,000) but flew past the finish in 2009 (117,540).

Morgen: Wow, that’s some typing.

Morgen: Thank you. I’m fortunate. I’ve been a secretary since I left school so I can type quickly. Like anything it’s just practice. Give me a blank template of a keyboard though and it would take me ages to write in each letter.

Morgen: That’s funny.

Morgen: I know. I only learned recently that the letters were jumbled up because the typists were too quick for the original machines so it’s was the best way of slowing them down… not sure how long for or who decided on the order of the letters but hey ho.

Morgen: How much of the marketing do you do for your published works or indeed for yourself as a ‘brand’?

Morgen: All of it but I’m enjoying it. I’m on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and of course this blog helps get my name known. I was chuffed when I’d been quiet on LinkedIn for a while, but still had the thread emails coming in, then commented on something and someone, I think it was KS Brooks (hi Kat), said that people had been wondering what had happened to me, which was lovely and it really is like a family, like Litopia is. Linton (who’s done an interview for me which will go up early October) did a disappearing act too and the same thing happened with him. Even if it doesn’t get any books sold (when they finally come out… note to self: get editing!), it’s so rewarding to be a part of that… Facebook’s the same; there’s Sue Welfare’s (hi Sue) weekly beginnings competition (which I contribute towards when I can – and has actually started off some pieces that I definitely want to continue; the latest being to continue ‘Just as dawn’ and I love sentence beginnings)…

Morgen: You’re waffling.

Morgen: Sorry. I think I’m done on that one.

Morgen: Great. You mentioned competition success earlier, do you think they help with a writer’s success?

Morgen: I had a spate of sending stuff out to competitions (Writing magazines and Writers’ News mostly) and have won a couple of local ones, was shortlisted a couple of time in the Writing Magazine and a couple of times at Verulam Get Writing competition (Geoffrey Guiver won this year’s… hello Geoffrey!) so they’re on the CV.

Morgen: Do you write under a pseudonym? If so why and do you think it makes a difference?

Morgen: I do, and I love it. It’s like someone being called a middle name because they prefer it to their first name. I had this conversation with my mum a while back and she said I could have picked one of my middle names; I have two. Elizabeth is the one I’d have gone with if I’d found out, or thought about it, earlier… or a variation probably Libby but it was too late by then but now I prefer Morgen (despite it often being spelt with an ‘a’ instead of an ‘e’). I don’t think anyone knows about the Libby thing, not even my brother (hi Martin) and not sure how my friends would react now… guess I’ll find out when they read this. But no, never been keen on my first name. Which, is Alison by the way. Ali as in Ali McBeal has been a suggestion but I’ve never warmed to it (despite liking the TV series) and ‘Al’ always seemed too butch so it’s been plain ‘Alison’ until Morgen came along, and it’s what I am online so it’s easier.

Although I’m biased I can understand why the likes of Ruth Rendell (Barbara Vine) and Joanna Trollope (Caroline Harvey) as it distinguishes their different genres. I picked a name that could be male or female, really because I write a variety of genres and went with Morgen as that was the name of a dog I used to have, plus it means ‘morning’ in German (I am a morning person) and my family has been friends with a German family since I was an early teen. The middle daughter (hello Heike – thank you for the lovely necklaces et al) and I are planning on going to Edinburgh book festival next year (for the first time) and I asked on Facebook if anyone else is going and I think we’re going to end up hiring JK Rowling’s castle. My cute dog mentioned earlier by the way is the Bailey of the ensemble.

Morgen: Do you have an agent? Do you think they’re vital to an author’s success?

Morgen: I’ve tried the agent route, admittedly only to about a dozen; seven or eight via email (all but one replied with a ‘no’) and I’ve had four agent pitches; a 3-minute with HarperCollins’ Scott Pack (not an agent, he was great, very supportive) at Verulam Feb 2011 and three (very interesting) at July 2011 Winchester. I don’t think I’d do it again until I had something really meaty to offer them; on reflection the writing I was presenting to them wasn’t really me, or my best work if I’m honest but definitely an experience, and one I would recommend any writer doing if they’re at all interested in getting an agent, which I think deep down, most would be as it’s the best way to reach the big boys (publishers)… and girls of course.

Morgen: Are your books available as eBooks? If so what was your experience of that process? And do you read eBooks?

Morgen: Can you ask me again in 6 months? This is a one-off? Oh, OK. Yes, they will be; eBooks only most likely. At the moment they’re either with, or back from, my editor Rachel or myself so the process has been fine, if not a little slow (me getting them to her although it’s ticking along nicely at the moment – I’ve had something back from her, the workbook, which needs only minor tweaking and she has the Story A Day anthology so I’m hoping to get something else to her before that comes back; I’d rather it were that way round).

I have an eReader but use it rarely as I never go anywhere. I have a Mac Air so that tends to go where I go but I tend not to get past emails, the internet etc. One day I’ll make the most of the eReader because I can see how brilliant they are, it’s just that I don’t travel much (at all) – I didn’t take it to Norfolk as I knew I wouldn’t get time; I took Matt Hilton’s ‘Cut and run’ but that remained unread (this weekend for sure Matt!) – I did go through four writing magazines picking nuggets for my writing group’s handouts, which ultimately end up on here.

I can read a book or magazine (usually a writing-related one as I just mentioned, I subscribe to the UK ones – Writing Magazine, Writers’ News, Mslexia, New Writer, Writer’s Forum… and Take a Break’s Fiction Feast, and I buy Woman’s Weekly fiction specials… which I keep meaning to subscribe to – so it keeps me busy, in fact I’m about 7 months behind with those so they’ve taken over the book reading; sorry Matt & Trisha Ashley (they’re my two ‘on the go’s at the moment)). Yes, I can read or edit as I walk (writing’s not so easy but I can do it) so I do that when I’m walking the dog or to / from work. Other than that it’s just out at the cinema or meeting friends (I joined http://meetup.com a little while ago; it’s great!).

So, no, to cut a short story long (as Martin and I used to say my dad did) after all that I have an eReader but don’t really use it. Audiobooks are also a big love of mine and can be listened to in conjunction with pretty much anything else so that’s a time-saving bonus.

Morgen: What was your first acceptance and is being accepted still a thrill?

Morgen: The Woman’s Weekly story and yes, absolutely, it’s great. Paid or unpaid it’s still exciting to see my writing (fiction or articles) out there and especially so when I get feedback. Elaine Saunders left me a message on my Facebook page earlier this week to say she was jogging at the gym to my podcast – I don’t think I’ve ever helped anyone lose weight before, other than letting my Mexican neighbour use my cross-trainer which she does more than me.

Morgen: Have you had any rejections? If so, how do you deal with them?

Morgen: I have. I’ve had 27 or 29, I can’t remember. I catalogue them (have I said already that I’m a nerd?) but I’m pretty sure it’s not quite up-to-date.

Morgen: What are you working on at the moment / next?

Morgen: Mostly the blog interviews, it takes a fair amount of work but I’ve got this week off so have been able to catch up a little. While Rachel has the anthology I want to crack on with the next book as I need to keep my momentum going.

Morgen: Do you manage to write every day? What’s the most you’ve written in a day?

Morgen: If you count a line or two then yes. Mostly it’s during the two writing groups so I guess the beginnings of a dozen pieces a month. I’m happy with most of them so I guess it’s quality over quantity. I’m very good with deadlines though so get writing for NaNo and StoryADay but then they were both before the blog interviews but I need to not let them standing in the way so find a way of doing both – I will, I just do. The most in a day was during NaNoWriMo, just under 10,000 words.

Morgen: What is your opinion of writer’s block? Do you ever suffer from it? If so, how do you ‘cure’ it?

Morgen: Sort of. I get stuck sometimes but then I either come back to it later, sleep on it, or if it’s near my writing group night I’ll run it past them.

Morgen: A question some authors dread (I guess because it’s sometimes impossible to answer?), where do you get your inspiration from?

Morgen: Everywhere and anywhere; patterns on the pavement after a patch of rain, newspaper clippings (I have literally hundreds of those – one of my Verulam shortlists, a monologue called ‘Feeding the Father’, was inspired by one of those), snatched conversations (I’m a devil for pretending to turn my iPod volume up / down when I’m actually pausing it as an argument walks by), an odd (or not so odd) word anywhere – I can look around my room and start with something, I’m lucky in that respect.

Morgen: Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Morgen: A bit of both. Like most of my interviewees have said, I’ve had a nugget and gone with it, seeing what comes out.

Morgen: Do you have a method for creating your characters, their names?

Morgen: It depends what I’m writing. If it’s from a picture (which we use in our Monday night writing group) then I’ll just look at it and see what I think the person’s name is, otherwise I’ll either pick a name from the air or it’ll just come to me as I write the piece, sometimes I change them if it doesn’t suit. I do have baby name books which really I should perhaps refer to more often as I want to call all my characters Elliot (the men anyway, unless it’s a surname). Not sure where that desire comes from other than being the surname of a school friend Natasha and we did get in contact again on Friends Reunited a while back.

Morgen: What do you think makes them believable?

Morgen: They have to be realistic and a reader as to empathise with them. Unless you’re making someone plastic for a reason (perhaps as an antagonist) readers get bored with perfection. And some flaws can be fun – there are plenty of those in my chick-lit novel.

Morgen: If you write non-fiction, how do you decide what to write about?

Morgen: The only non-fiction writing I do is writing-related so I’m either given an idea (Steve Bowkett of the NAWG Link magazine has either asked me to do something or leaves it to me… I say that as if I’m in there all the time – only two issues so far (April 2011 and August 2011) with the short story (twist on a fairy tale which they’d asked for in the August edition) coming out in October.

Morgen: If you write poetry, do you write to form or free verse? What would you say is the difference between a piece of prose and a prose poem? Why do you think poetry is so popular and yet so poorly paid?

Morgen: Ha ha ha ha… sorry. I have written poetry but it’s not my strength. At all. Really it isn’t. Oh no. It’s not me.

Morgen: OK.

Morgen: Although there was…

Morgen: You mentioned short stories earlier, apart from the word count, what do you see as the differences between them and novels and why do you think they’re so difficult to get published?

Morgen: You do have to be much, much tighter in a short story; every word literally does have to count, and it’s easy to forget that but you literally have to look that closely when editing it. If you can lose a word, do it (for instance do you need ‘completely’ before ‘dead’?). In novels everything still has to be relevant – narrative drive; move the story forward or tell us something about that character. If we don’t need to know what Sam had toast for breakfast (yes, guilty of that in novel one) then take it out.

Morgen: Are you involved in anything else writing-related other than actual writing or marketing of your writing?

Morgen: I run two writing groups; every Monday, one critique, the other writing workshop and I love them both. I’m lucky and have a great bunch of people, some of whom (three) come to both sessions. I belong to two others locally and release a podcast every Monday morning (although I think it’ll be later in the day this week as my brother’s visiting from Switzerland… hoorah!). Then there’s Litopia every Friday and Sunday nights. And I go to lit fests, talks etc. Live and breathe, and it’s always a pleasure never a chore, as Hugh Laurie said to Joely Richardson in Maybe Baby (if you’ve never seen it, do, it’s hilarious… especially Rowen Atkinson and Dawn French.

Morgen: Who is your first reader – who do you first show your work to?

Morgen: Generally my writing group. The critique sessions though are only fortnightly (the workshop’s the other Mondays) so there’s only so much I can read out in the time. I have the wonderful aforementioned editor Rachel (hi Rachel) who I knew already but she’s just setting up her manuscript services company (the website for which I shall be no doubt be touting fairly heavily when it’s live although I’m not her only client so there’s a headstart there already). She really is the key to me being happy about the content my eBooks before I launch them, although we both know I have the final say (the great thing about self-pub) but she’s the vital second opinion which everyone needs regardless of how good their writing is.

Morgen: Before it goes to Rachel, do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

Morgen: I use to, but yes. The more I write the more know where I’m waffling as I go along…

Morgen: now there’s a surprise

Morgen: …so I curb it.

Morgen: How much research do you have to do for your writing? Have you ever received feedback from your readers?

Morgen: Research is my least favourite aspect of writing although the internet does make it much easier. I don’t really have much out there at the moment. I had some great comments from The Threadbare Girl and can’t wait to get my eBooks out there as I just love knowing that people read what I create – assuming that someone will. And of course hoping that they’ll like it. The other great thing about eBooks is that if someone spots a mistake it can easily be tweaked and resubmitted, no waiting for a second edition / reprint.

Morgen: What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write?

Morgen: I usually grab a cup of tea. I’m a dreadful snacker so have to either get something like a sandwich before start writing or I’ll be scrabbling around for sweets or crisps because I’m too busy to get something proper (if a sandwich counts as proper). I’m usually eating something pretty bad when I’m on Litopia as I’m usually rushing around just before it (especially if it’s a Sunday night and I’m getting the headset configured and Skype set up – Litopia’s on tonight by the way – it’s great… Dorothy Koomson was one of the guests last Friday; My Best Friend’s Girl is one of my favourite books and I’ve just bought ‘The Woman He Loved Before’) and as food always gets mentioned I’m found out pretty quickly (I’m too honest I guess) and the other chatroomers tell me off.

Morgen: Do you write on paper or do you prefer a computer?

Morgen: A computer if I have it handy but otherwise it’s paper which is fine because I then edit as I type it up (when I get round to typing it up, she says conscious of the stack of notes in a tray to her right). I prefer to edit on paper and yes, I use a red pen.

Morgen: Some writers like quiet, others the noise of a coffee shop etc. Do you listen to music or have noise around you when you write or do you need silence?

Morgen: I like classical music. I’m typing this while I listen to my iPod’s Top Rated (not sure why as I have iTunes on the computer but it’s still running from when I took the dog, who’s currently on my lap, exhausted from his beach escapades) and I can type something like this with words going on, probably easier as I know the songs but prefer classical because of the lack of words if I’m trying to create fictional ones. Silence for me is too… silent, but I struggle to concentrate in a coffee shop, fine for checking emails though.

Morgen: What point of view do you find most to your liking: first person or third person? Have you ever tried second person?

Morgen: This is the question I was looking forward to as I LOVE LOVE LOVE second person. Normally I use a mixture, I suppose mostly third person, but my heart always beats a little faster when I write second. For anyone not reading this I’d say please do give it a go (let me know if you need help) or take a look at my sentence starts page on this blog (http://morgenbailey.wordpress.com/sentence-starts).

Morgen: The page that you love touting. Do you use prologues / epilogues? What do you think of the use of them?

Morgen: I wasn’t keen until I used one at the beginning of novel two. It was originally Chapter 1. It’s not gone to Rachel yet so the jury is still out.

Morgen: Do you have pieces of work that you think will never see light of day?

Morgen: LOADS. Well, that’s not true. I have loads of stories to go through which may make the grade, now I’m older (no sniggers please) and wiser (ditto). Novel 5 was very self-indulgent and about a real life person so if that did go ahead I’d have to change nearly all of it. I really like the story actually so I may.

Morgen: What’s your favourite / least favourite aspect of your writing life?

Morgen: Easy. Never knowing what’s going to come out. You know it’s come from your sub-conscious but it surprises you all the time. Least favourite is not having enough time. My life is 90% writing-related (with 10% thinking about writing) so I can’t complain but an extra couple of hours here and there would be good.

Morgen: If anything, what has been your biggest surprise about writing?

Morgen: How much it can take over. I hadn’t a clue what to do when I left school and still hadn’t until I started writing… and writing… and writing… and now I can think of little else (sorry dog, house etc). And how the characters can take over – I love that.

Morgen: What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Morgen: As the great marketing men at Nike say ‘Just do it’. It’s all about practice. The more you write (play the piano) the better you’ll get (play a concerto). And go to courses (I still do – hi Helen!), talks and literature events (the latter is how I met Rachel). Meet other writers. Join a writing group – they’ll point out what works and doesn’t, often something that never occurs to me. And read. Read a lot. I don’t read enough, although I’m getting better. And listen to writing-related podcasts. If you want to write, live and breathe it. Not to the extent of your family not remembering what you look like (hey JVS!) but I only have my dog who I feed and walk twice / three times a day so he’ll never forget.

Morgen: What do you like to read?

Morgen: Short stories mainly – I like the fact that I can read them in one go – and two extremes; the darker the better or humour… pretty much what I like to write. I love Roald Dahl and Kate Atkinson… and of course all the works by every interviewee I’ve ever or writer I’ve ever had associations with and will have in the future.

Morgen: What do you do when you’re not writing? Any hobbies or party tricks?

Morgen: Is there anything other than writing? Oh, actually writing. Everything else. I’m forever thinking, jotting things down but at the moment the only times I write are during my fortnightly Monday night workshops (and I’m thrilled with some of the things I’ve come up with then) and monthly Northampton Literature Group workshops (which I’ve been leading recently ) but I’ve been editing stuff for Rachel so that sort of counts, doesn’t it?

Morgen: Mmm…

Morgen: I do have a couple of party tricks.

Morgen: Oh yes?

Morgen: I can bark like a seal (do they bark?) and can flip about a dozen coins from the back of my right elbow (is that called something? I know the back of the knee doesn’t have a name), although I’m rusty at both of them.

Morgen: Are there any writing-related websites and/or books that you find useful and would recommend?

Morgen: Websites: http://duotrope.com and http://jbwb.co.uk for market information and then specifically http://womagwriter.blogspot.com (I’m hoping to have Kathy for an interview in the not too distant future, I think she’d be really interesting) for short story info. Sorry if I’ve missed anyone out that I shouldn’t have done. Books: this is where I should say Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’ and I have it but not read it yet (it got as far as my bedside table when it was first mentioned in these interviews). I have shelves full of ‘how to’ books that I’ve not read, shamefully. I would recommend Sue Moorcroft’s ‘Love Writing’ and Adrian Magson’s new ‘Write On!’ but I am slightly biased because I know them both and Adrian listed my website in the back of his (but they are great books). And if you write short stories then Della Galton’s ‘How to write short stories’ because she’s a major short story goddess (that’s a major goddess not a goddess of major short stories).

Morgen: Yes, I think we got that. In which country are you based and do you find this a help or hindrance with letting people know about your work?

Morgen: The UK. England. Northamptonshire. The rose of the shires… or is that Yorkshire. We have roses on our county signposts. As you can tell I’m not from round there ’ere parts. Been here 15 years, Bucks before that. As you can see I’ve not travelled much (this is the… flat above my dad’s shop… then there was… then… then the house I rented when I moved up here, then my first house… and here… oh no, there was Richard’s… so seventh house in 44 years; that’s not all that much is it?

Morgen: Compared to many, probably not. Are you on any forums or networking sites? If so, how invaluable do you find them?

Morgen: I’d love to say here that I’m on Litopia’s all the time but I’ve not been on it (slapped wrists) other than the Friday and Sunday nights (which are great and everyone should swing by, although Sundays are currently on a hiatus).

Morgen: Where can we find out about you and your work?

Morgen: Here (my ‘About me’ and ‘My writing’ pages), Nathan’s website (mentioned in the footer of this interview)… erm… my website (http://morgenbailey.com) but that’s similar to this (although not as pretty / professional looking). There are links to everything I’m involved in on that and in the ‘Where to find me’ menu of this blog.

Morgen: A fair amount.

Morgen: Thanks… yes, I’d like to do more but, you know…

Morgen: I do. What do you think the future holds for a writer?

Morgen: I am SO excited by where we’re at right now and I’m so glad that I didn’t try to get loads of work out when I first started. (a) because it was probably dire, although looking back there are some redeemable nuggets and (b) because I can now do what I like, under Rachel’s guidance: my own cover design, price (99p mostly) and content. It’s great… well, I’m hoping it will be when we get there.

Morgen: Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

Morgen: Um… I think I’ve talked for long enough, don’t you? Is anyone still awake?

Morgen: Hopefully one or two… and maybe one of those will be kind enough to leave a comment.

Morgen: That would be great. I love getting the ‘please approve’ emails from WordPress.

Morgen: Well… OK then to finish. Is there a question you’d like to ask me?

Morgen: Why your nose goes so red in the sun?

Morgen: Good question. I’m not sure why I have a Roman nose but yes, my caricature (which was done by Adrian Teal by the way) is fairly spot on although I think I could be mistaken for an alcoholic and my brother especially knows I never remember that I’ve got booze in the house but he helps me out whenever he visits (which is too rarely, although I’m seeing him this weekend, yay!). I walk the dog two or three times a day, walk to / from work, round car boot sales so I guess it just gets lots of exposure (although I do slap lotion on it but clearly not enough). It doesn’t really bother me, adds to the personality I guess, like the glasses.

Morgen: Which aren’t in your caricature.

Morgen: They’re not – they weren’t in the picture that Adrian had, I’m not sure why. Finally we have some questions from the ‘audience’.

Morgen: Really?

Morgen: We do.

Morgen: Yay, great.

Morgen: JD Mader from the San Francisco Bay Area would like to know whether you have a sentence, character, paragraph, etc that you love that you have never been able to fit into a piece?

Morgen: Oh hey JD (did you wife forgive you for spending your anniversary social networking? ). Sentences don’t spring to mind other than the ones I created for my ‘sentence starts’ (which I touted earlier). Neither does a paragraph but I have lots of short stories that I’ve not done anything with. One of my favourite words is ‘cuddle’ and I don’t get to use that often enough. There is a character I’ve used as the antagonist in novel no. 5 and the whole story revolves around him but I’d have to change it as he’s real and I’ve mentioned real events but I wrote it therapeutically so will probably never see light of day but we shall see…

Morgen: Then we have Sarah Tanburn…

Morgen: Oh hey Sarah! She’s RoaringGirl on Litopia, you know.

Morgen: I do. She’d like to know where you get the confidence to get out there and persuade some big name authors to come on your blog and get interviewed? She thinks you have a lovely way of writing the interviews so they are very personalised and tell us about you without intruding on the main event, so to speak.  How did you evolve that approach?

Morgen: Ah that’s nice. As for the authors I’ve been very lucky; I either know them already (from my former studies, the podcast or they’re friends of friends) or they’ve approached me because of Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or said friends (Adrian Magson in particular has done a lot of recommending for which I’m very grateful) or they’ve read other interviews on the blog and would like to take part (and I’ve been so grateful as it keeps the one a day going). As for the format, well I just slot my reaction in as I read through as if we were sitting together. Having interviewed numerous authors for my audio podcast (either in person or via Skype) I just imagine it’s that. My dad used to say that if a job is worth doing it’s worth doing well (I only later found out that he wasn’t the first person to say so, I was pretty young at the time) and I’ve inherited that (and my poor memory) from him and it’s a format that’s proving popular so absolutely worth spending the time on.

Morgen: Marta from…

Morgen: Oh, one of our readers of Sunny’s interview? I’m hoping she’ll do an interview with me too.

Morgen: Indeed. She has five questions for you…

Morgen: Wow!

Morgen: 1. who was your first and/or favorite english/writing teacher and why?

Morgen: Gosh. I remember Mrs Haines from primary school – she was lovely, although I think she was the one who told me off in my first term (so I would have been 5?) for talking too much.

Morgen: What a surprise.

Morgen: I think my favourite overall there was Mr (Mike) O’Toole because he was passionate and I got to see more of him than anyone as he used to come in my dad’s photographic shop. I discovered an Our Lady’s group on Facebook recently so I’ve been chatting on there although there’s no-one from my year there, or teachers… yet. I liked my secondary English teacher because I liked the subject but I can’t remember her name (sorry about that).

Morgen: 2. if you were a literary character, who would you most likely be?

Morgen: I  love Jeff Lindsay’s Debra Morgan (Dexter’s sister) but only from the TV version not the book (I’ve not read the latter, I have a couple of them) because apparently she’s quite different (presumably not as feisty). And of course I like their surname.

Morgen: 3. what is your favorite genre?

Morgen: oh no, I have to choose one? I’d say dark comedy. That’s cheating isn’t it? OK then dark. I know it’s not a genre but it’s what my writing invariably is.

Morgen: 4. if you were an animal, which animal would you be?  if you were a tree, which tree would you be?

Morgen: Having watched Planet of the Apes today I’d say ‘Caesar’ the chimp because he’s smart and ends up being in charge and if you watch it, for the second part of the questions, I’d pick the tall tree he ends up (although he has a better head for heights). I quite like the oak because it’s old and wise. That’s a great Alan Parsons Project song by the way… Old and wise. A sad one, I’ll warn you.

Morgen: Thanks. 5. what one thing changed your writing and when/how did you have that “ah ha” moment?

Morgen: Wow, these are good questions. This is going to sound really dull but it’s really only practice that’s changed it. I have learned a lot by going to workshops but it’s then implementing what I’ve learned as I go along. I’ve not explained that well. I do plan to do a ‘key ingredients’ to writing blog post which will explain what I’ve learned. “ah ha” moment is just as tricky. I do remember it; a few months ago but it was realising how much I enjoyed writing and that I wanted to do it for the rest of my life, and take it more seriously, I can’t remember what prompted it. Sorry.

Morgen: And then we have Litopia’s Thomas Tyler.

Morgen: Oh hey TT!

Morgen: He’d like to know what keeps you writing?

Morgen: Easiest question of the evening: passion.

Morgen: And then…

Morgen: There’s more?

Morgen: Another from ‘TT’ yes.

Morgen: Oh great.

Morgen: He asks: What desire do you wish you didn’t possess?

Morgen: My desire for tall men? Apart from some foods (Banoffee pie) that’s what springs to mind. I’m 5’10 (well, 5’9¾) and tall men are rarer than million-pound novel deals. OK, maybe not that rare but my heart sinks (to use a cliché) every time I see a tall guy with a little women… it’s a waste. And invariably when I do meet them they say how lovely it is when they meet someone they don’t get neck ache talking to. My life would be complete (pretty much anyway) if I met a 6’4 guy who lived locally (and didn’t mind that I’m so buy) who loved writing, even a speck to the extent I do. But I am so busy that I don’t mind being single… whenever I see a couple arguing it reminds me there are advantages to singledom. There’s no writing-related desire that I wish I didn’t possess because everything’s worth it to me. Even words I don’t use (although I couldn’t think of any for Dan could I, I guess I mean ones that are edited out, aren’t a waste because it’s all practice and they may be turned into something else one day, the joy of copy / cut and paste.

Morgen: Well, thanks Morgen. It’s been… interesting.

Morgen: Thank you. I’ve had fun… a little weird, but fun nonetheless.

Morgen: Have we stopped recording now?

Morgen: It’s not being recorded.

Morgen: Really?

Morgen: No. You know how this works; it’s all typed.

Morgen: Oh.

Morgen: OK?

Morgen: Sure. So I’m free to go?

Morgen: You are.

Morgen: OK, great, because I’ve got a busy evening.

Morgen: You have?

Morgen: Litopia starts in an hour then I’m going out to play pool.

Morgen: Oh.

Morgen: Oh?

Morgen: I’m rubbish at pool… my bowling’s a bit iffy too.

Morgen: Mine too.

Morgen: Well, have a good time.

Morgen: Thanks. Oh there was just one thing… hello?… hello?… are you there? I think she’s hung up…

***

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008E88JN0 for outside the UK **

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).

The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

• Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
• Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group (http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934)
• Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group (http://scriptwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/319941328108017)
• Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group (http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445)

We look forward to reading your comments.

 

Blog interview no.86 part 2 with crime / action thriller novelist (who dips into horror) Matt Hilton

On Saturday (6th August) I posted my interview with UK crime novelist (who’s also dabbling in the horror genre) Matt Hilton. Before this went live I started reading his fourth Joe Hunter novel ‘Cut and run’ and although I’ve not finished it yet (I’m a snatch-time-to-read-when-I-can reader) I asked him some more questions about the book and the process of writing it. If you’ve not read part one part 1 yet you might like to do so first.

Morgen: Matt, as you know I’m reading ‘Cut and run’, and am about half-way through (started last weekend but the likes of work keeps getting in the way ), so I’d like to ask you a few questions based on what I’ve read so far, if you don’t mind, and without giving too much away…‘Cut and run’ isn’t a term I’d really heard of before but Wikipedia tells me it’s a war / battle term. For me it also describes the main antagonist’s brutal tactics. Was it a title you chose or did your agent / publisher have an influence? How involved are you with your titles / covers?

Matt: Titles are always the most difficult part of writing the book for me. Something I have to consider is house style and brand. For each of my books I set a standard with a three-word title, and it has become expected of me to continue in the same vein. So basically I look for something that is short, concise and easily recalled and – forgive the cliché – but says exactly what’s in the tin.

Morgen: Absolutely forgiven, I use that one myself.

Matt: With Cut and Run I did choose it for its military connotation, but also for the act of cutting your losses and then disappearing, which is what Luke Rickard attempts to do. I’ve stayed with the three-word title for the other books in the series but have broken the something AND something mould with book six. I was in danger of having Joe Hunter in Fish and Chips, or Salt and Vinegar if I wasn’t careful.

Morgen: There’s a guy works down the chip shop swears he’s… sorry, couldn’t resist, although I wouldn’t mind having Joe at my local chippy.

Matt: My agent and editors all have in put to the titles, but we always choose one that keeps everyone happy (usually that means THE PUBLISHER).

Morgen: You live in Britain and yet this seems to be really realistic America (although I must admit I’ve never been over the ‘pond’) – how do you make it authentic? Are all the Joe Hunter books set in the US?

Matt: With the exception of Dead Men’s Dust, Cut and Run and in a small part of the upcoming Dead Men’s Harvest, the action does take place in the USA. I chose to send Joe off to America because of the huge and diverse landscape on offer, plus the opportunities for action and adventure were much better than if I set the books here in the UK. We all accept a Hollywood idea of America (in the UK) where we can believe that incidents like those in the Joe Hunter books could happen. The suspension of disbelief factor is easier to overcome, when the books are set in a fantastical version of the USA. Much of the humour in the books comes from the fact that Joe is an Englishman abroad. So any mistakes there in are his and not mine.

Morgen: That’s true, I like that.

Matt: Seriously, though, I do research as I go and use Google Earth quite a lot. I like to add local flavour and idiosyncrasies and these can only be found by researching much deeper or by talking to the American people themselves. I have been to the US on a number of occasions now, and funnily enough find it to be very much a home from home. I do sometimes get into a muddle with my US editor who doesn’t always understand Joe’s British ways or his slang. I often have a chuckle to myself when receiving queries from America asking what exactly I mean by such terms as ‘Wind your neck in,’ and such like.

Morgen: I email a fellow Litopian Thomas Tyler (hi TT!) and every now and then he asks me what I mean by something – the latest was ‘jacket potato’ (potato cooked with its skin on – best done in the oven rather than microwave so the skin’s crispier… it’s only 8.30am but I could eat one now… sour cream, hot butter… mmm… Sorry, you were saying.

Matt: We both speak English, but it’s a totally different language that doesn’t always translate. I write Joe in a very ironic way, a bit tongue in cheek and self-deprecating, but to my American readers, they hear egotism. Odd.

Morgen: I think however you right two people will get different interpretation, I guess you know your character best so have to be true to him. Your book is packed with technicalities (without being too overwhelming), how much research did you have to do (do you do ongoing)? Which leads me perhaps to a dreaded question: have you ever received feedback from your readers pointing out inaccuracies – and was he/she right?

Matt: I research as I go and try to lift technical details from the official websites and such. But sometimes you can slip up. I did have a guy tell me words to the effect of “It’s a Ninety-Two Hyphen F, not a Ninety Hyphen Two F,’ and another who told me a helicopter couldn’t actually perform a loop. He was referring to performing a full circle on a vertical plane – a loop-the-loop – whereas I was only referring to the helicopter making a half circle round an object and then returning to its starting point. But I’m happy with this, as it means that the reader is taking note, and what more can I ask?

Morgen: Absolutely. I can’t wait for mine.

Matt: I’ve made the old faux pas of having my character ‘flick the safety off their Glock’, which aggravates gun aficionados because the Glock has an internal double-action trigger type safety (try saying that three times quickly)…

Morgen: internal double-action trigger type safety… internal double-action trigger type safety… internal double-action trigger type safety… sorry you did ask, and yes, I cheated by copying / pasting.

Matt: …but is often mentioned in books. I probably read the same somewhere and trusted that the author got it right. I don’t try to go heavy-handed with the technical stuff, but for some thriller readers they kind of expect to read about the weaponry and stuff, so I only pepper the books with such detail where necessary.

Morgen: ‘Pepper’, that’s funny. You dedicate this book to your mother Valerie – has she read it and if so, did she like it? My mum hates my ‘darker’ stuff (she’s a Pam Ayres light and fluffy reader ).

Matt: My mam has read it and said she liked it. But then again, she would, wouldn’t she?

Morgen: And I wonder if she got half-way (as I am now) and wondered if Joe and Imogen would get together. I love the Sophocles quote at the beginning (which is repeated later within the story – page 122 to be exactly; did I say in part 1 that I’m a nerd? – I do have a habit of writing down bits I like, as I’m sure other writers do) along with another quote from Ghandi – are there any rules, that you’re aware of, for using quotations in novels?

Matt: You have to be careful because some quotes are copyrighted. Particularly if you are quoting words from a song or from another person’s work you should check for rights or ask for permission to use the quote. I try to only use quotes that are copyright free or are in common usage and freely available (or that the quote is from someone dead for many years who won’t sue me).

Morgen: I’m pretty sure you’re safe them with Sophocles. Was it fun having your characters do martial arts moves (according to the back cover of ‘Cut and Run’ you’re a 4th Dan black-belt at ju-jitsu)? Are there other autobiographical aspects of you in your books?

Matt: Yeah, I practice all the moves he does in the books on my long-suffering wife, looking for the most impactive and devastating moves in my arsenal. Only kidding. I have a vast knowledge of martial arts and unarmed combat to draw on, but I try to keep Joe’s skills to the brutal and effective end of the spectrum. I envisage the moves in my mind as I’m writing them, ensuring that they would be feasible under the circumstances.

Morgen: I’m the same. If a character is doing something I can always write it better / easier if I do the moves, although I have to say none of them have been martial yet.

Matt: A ‘real’ fight isn’t always what you imagine it to be, or as it’s often shown in movies. Most fights last seconds and involve a lot of grunting, swearing, hanging on and rolling around on the floor.

Morgen:

Matt: These wouldn’t be attractive in a book, so I fancy them up a bit, but always with correct application and effectiveness in mind. I’m not a tough guy, but I’ve been in many scrapes over the years while working as a cop and in security, and also fighting in full contact martial arts tournaments, so I do know what it’s like to hit or be hit. The latter hurts much more! The other thing I share with Joe is his love of coffee, his allegiance and love of family, and his interest in old forms of music. Joe likes the original Rhythm and Blues, while I lean more to Rockabilly and Rock’n'Roll, but sometimes those styles intermix.

Morgen: Joe Hunter is a killer with a conscience. How important was it for you for him to be like that? It is one of the things I find really endearing about him and I notice is highlighted in your You Tube video for ‘Dead Man’s Dust’.

Matt: He had to be given a conscience otherwise he would have been no better than those he goes up against. I think it’s important to show that he has staunch morals and a sense of right and wrong, and also lines which he won’t step over. It’s another thing that I share with him. But, for the record, I’ve never carried out any vigilante action “Joe style”!

Morgen: I’ll resist making reference to the shameful riots that are currently going on in this country. Is the Joe from your book covers and You Tube video how you envisaged him when you were writing him? And the voice?

Matt: I try not to describe what Joe looks like and prefer to leave it to the reader’s imagination. Because of the job he was in (Spec Ops) it was imperative that he was just the ‘Everyman’ so that he could blend in. I have a hazy image of him in my mind’s eye that might not fit with another reader’s idea. It’s funny how some readers often ask who I’d like to play Joe if there was ever a movie and I turn the question back on them. Suggestions of many different and diverse looking actors come through. In regards Joe’s voice: I say he comes from Manchester, but he also spent most of his adult life in the strict rigidity of the military, not to mention spending the last four years or so in the US. So he’ll have a cosmopolitan accent. In some audio versions I’ve heard they have Joe speaking with a quasi-Liam or -Noel Gallagher accent, while in others he is your typical ‘Voice Over Man’, neither of which is the voice I have in my head. I certainly don’t think of Joe as ‘Probably the best vigilante in the world’ (if you get the Carlsberg reference?).

Morgen: I live in Carlsberg’s UK head office town so I do, very much. Sorry Liam and Noel but they’re voices have always seemed a ‘soft’ to me… not Joe Hunter at all. TV presenter (of ‘Top Gear’ amongst others) Richard Hammond and Chris Ryan have both recommended your book – how did you find out that they’d read it? Can you recommend how an author can seek to get reviews like this?

Matt: The first I knew that either had read and subsequently blurbed my books was when my Editor / agent told me. I was over the moon at both. Other great authors have also offered blurbs, such as Peter James, Simon Kernick, Adrian Magson and Christopher Reich for which I’m also very grateful.

Morgen: Ah, Adrian. He’s great isn’t he (as the others are of course) but it was Adrian who put me in touch with you.

Matt: As an author you get to meet many of your peers and literary heroes. It’s a case of ask and ye may receive in this case. If anyone is looking for a quote, a polite approach by email or letter is generally the norm. Then wait, and don’t be pushy, and most authors are very generous and often will be happy to help.

Morgen: I have heard that so am writing a list of mine. This is the fourth of a published series of five how many do you have planned for the series? And how do you keep all the threads going (one thing I struggled with when writing novels)?

Matt: Following ‘Cut and Run’ is ‘Blood and Ashes’, which has recently been published in paperback…

Morgen: I saw it in the library last week.

Matt: …and next week on 18th August the sixth in the series is out in hardback. This is a loose sequel to ‘Dead Men’s Dust’ in which one of Joe’s greatest and deadliest enemies makes a return. It’s called ‘Dead Men’s Harvest’ and there’s a clue in the title for anyone who’s been following the series. ‘No Going Back’ – book seven – follows next Spring, with the as yet untitled book eight coming later in the year. I’ve finished writing book eight now and am about to make a start on book nine. I’m currently contracted to book nine in the series, but hopefully if the readers get behind Joe’s adventures there’ll be many more.

Morgen: …to use your earlier quote: “and why wouldn’t they?”

Matt: As long as people keep liking them I’ll keep on writing further Joe Hunter books. Also coming in the spring of 2012 will be a collection of Joe Hunter short short stories called Six of the Best.

Morgen: Yay! I love short stories. Yay!

Matt: At the moment the plan is to make them available as ebooks on Kindle etc, but there might be a paper version at some time. Perhaps I’ll do a longer collection further down the line as well.

Morgen: Double yay!

Matt: I’d also like to do a couple stand-alone books, and maybe one with Jared ‘Rink’ Rington (Joe’s pal from the series) in the spotlight.

Morgen: Oh I love Rink!

Matt: Keeping all the threads on the go isn’t as difficult as it seems, but I do have to occasionally go back and check what I said in previous books.

Morgen: All my novels have been different (I say “all” there have only been four) so it must be easier (or maybe not) writing with the same characters in each one.

Matt: I’m pretty sure Joe had blue eyes in the first book, brown eyes in the second, and now has blue/brown eyes dependent on his mood – but I’d have to check.

Morgen: uh oh.

Matt: I try to keep to the same details as I’ve added along the way, but of course also like to see characters change and develop along the way. Life experiences can have a big impact on the living and it should be the same for fictional characters.

Morgen: Spoiler alert…

Matt: Losing Kate in ‘Slash and Burn’ and then meeting up with Imogen in ‘Cut and Run’ was a natural progression, and also the events that occur at the end of ‘Cut and Run’ impact on Joe’s response in ‘Blood and Ashes’. In the next book, I had to refer back to the first in the series quite a lot to ensure continuity for ‘Dead Men’s Harvest’. Thankfully I live with Joe in my head most of the time, so I’m intimate with his back story now, so most things I need to reference are right there in my mind most of the time…I just need to rattle my skull a few times to knock them loose.

Morgen: A great friend to have with you, I’d say. For me, you have lovely short chapters in your book. Is that your standard form? It works like James Patterson, although sometimes his are ridiculously short. Is it hard work keeping the chapter short, i.e. having so many cliffhangers (although sometimes less significant ones) or conclusions. I met crime / thriller writer Graham Hurley in autumn 2009 and started reading his first novel Nocturne. Like your book ‘Cut and Run’ (which I’m really enjoying by the way – have I said that already?) I was hooked in from the start, but with Graham’s (and this isn’t a criticism) there was one chapter per c. 100 pages and the only natural breaks were when I fell asleep or arrived at work (I’ve mastered the art of reading while I walk to / from work). I’m a short attention span reader whereas some people like my German friend like the bigger the book, the longer the chapters, the better – she’s also read Graham’s and he kindly dedicated my copy of The Take to her (she was thrilled, I’ve since replaced mine ) – but then she’s a readaholic with a demanding job; I don’t read as much as I’d like to with a low-taxing job. I think there was a question in there somewhere…

Matt: I enjoy the immediacy that a short chapter offers, plus it gives me more scope for moving a scene on rapidly, adding to the pace and urgency of the narrative. When I hit a point where I need to rein myself back a little, I tend to go for a slightly longer chapter that also serves to slow the pace a tad, before beginning to ramp it up again to the next major action scene. I’ve read different styles, and different lengths of chapters serve to build a plot in different ways. You mention Patterson’s ludicrously short chapters, and I have to agree that sometimes they’re more a single thought or paragraph than a genuine chapter. But it’s a great foil, because instead of putting down the book, you skip immediately to the next. There’s rarely a good point where you are happy to put the book down, and are always tempted to read the next very short chapter, so maybe JP has got it right. Whether that or it explains why he can turn out so many books in a year (regardless of the troop of authors working with him) because much of what the reader is paying for is white space. I read a lot of Stephen Leather’s Dan ‘Spider’ Shepherd books and though he has breaks in the narrative of a single white line there are no traditionally headed chapters or white space. It still works for me, although at first I found the style unusual, but have come to expect it now. I see it as his distinctive style, the same as my alternating first person / third person narrative is mine. In regards the difficulty of keeping the chapters short, no, I don’t have a major problem. I only try to show what is important to the scene and then move on. I’d probably struggle if I had keep the narrative flowing over many pages without jeopardising the pace.

Morgen: Thank you so much, again, Matt for doing this interview with me… not only once but twice! Matt’s website is http://www.matthiltonbooks.com and his books are available at all good bookshops (and libraries ).

I currrently post one author blog interview a day but today you’ll be getting two for the price of one. As well at Matt part 2 I shall be posting my interview with Mystery author Gerrie Ferris Finger.

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me at morgen@morgenbailey.com and I’ll send you the questions. You complete them, I tweak them where appropriate (if necessary to reflect the blog ‘clean and light’ rating) and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

The 100th interview falls on my birthday so I’m going to interview myself! If there’s anything you’d like to find out about me (no skeleton digging please) then feel free to email me a question or three.

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. … and follow me on Twitter (http://twitter.com/morgenwriteruk) where each new posting is automatically announced.

Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day I can’t review books but if you have a short story or self-contained novel extract/short chapter (ideally up to 2000 words) that you’d like critiqued and don’t mind me reading it/talking about it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use them or ignore them) on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast – see http://morgenbailey.wordpress.com/bwt-podcast – then do email me. I plan to do one a fortnight (my shows are usually Mondays) so it’ll be interweaving red pen and hints/tips episodes.

In the meantime, if you have a moment and like quite dark stuff then you can read one of my ditties at Nathan Weaver’s http://www.talesfrombabylon.com/2011/07/rogues-gallery-2-morgen-bailey.html. Thank you.

 

Author interview no.28 with crime/western/horror novelist & actor Gary Dobbs (Jack Martin/Vincent Stark)

Welcome to the twenty-eighth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, directors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate the author further. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found at here. Today’s is with crime author and fellow Litopian Gary Dobbs… alias western novelist Jack Martin… alias horror writer Vincent Stark.

Morgen: Hi Gary. Please tell us something about yourself and how you came to be a writer.

Gary: Writing is something I’ve always done – I don’t think I ever made a conscious decision to become a writer, but for as long as I can remember I’ve always wanted to be published. I kept at that for over twenty years and then when I was finally published with The Tarnished Star in 2009, I realised that there was a lot more to being a writer than just being published. It’s something you’ve constantly got to work at if you want to be the best writer you can be. And I think any serious writer will want to be the best writer they can be. Me – I want to be the best there ever was, but although I know that’ll never happen I do hope to be a pretty darn good writer.

Morgen: Lots of practice. What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

Gary: I made my first success with the western genre, which is something I’ve always loved and although I do from time to time stray into other genres (at the moment I’m working on a horror novel), it is the western that will always be my first love. My July release, The Ballad of Delta Rose although a western, I think stylistically more resembles the hard-boiled crime genre. I really want to write entertaining books and I think the genre is irrelevant and I just go with wherever the idea takes me. Who knows one day I may write a humorous, YA, horrific, crime-filled western bodice ripper. Then again I may not.

Morgen: Ah yes, we were talking about bodice rippers on last Sunday’s Litopia (http://litopia.com). What have you had published to-date? How much of the marketing do you do?

Gary: I’ve self published a few little things but to stick to the conventionally published; I’ve done three westerns including July’s, The Ballad of Delta Rose and a historical crime, A Policeman’s Lot. However this year I will see my first horror novel, The Dead Walked published. And on the subject of marketing – these days the writer is expected to do more and more, but a lot of it includes social networking which I enjoy, so although there is a lot of marketing it more often comes under play rather than work.

Morgen: It is fun, isn’t it? Do you have an agent? Do you think they’re vital to an author’s success?

Gary: I had an agent but sacked him for being useless, and today I am my own agent. I’ve got no real opinion on agents and I am sure there are a great many good ones out there…

Morgen: Litopia’s http://twitter.com/agentpete will be glad to hear that.

Gary: …but given the way publishing is going I think they are becoming less and less essential with each bestselling self published eBook. It’s the same with agents for actors – they make their living by operating in a closed-door environment and keep all their little contacts close to their chest, but I think true talent will out regardless of agents.

Morgen: I should also explain that you’re also an actor (‘Dr Who’, ‘Torchwood’, ‘Lark Rise to Candleford’ to name just a few) and don’t usually dress as per the picture above (or maybe you do). Are your books available as eBooks? If so what was your experience of that process? And do you read eBooks?

Gary: These days I read more eBooks than conventional ones and actually prefer reading on my Kindle, but I still buy physical books. For instance this week I bought two copies of Jeffrey Deaver’s new Bond novel – a book to keep in pristine condition and the Kindle version to actually read. So far of my books only A Policeman’s Lot is available on eBook, but my horror novel, The Dead Walked will debut as an eBook. It’s amazing how well eBooks are doing – initially I was horrified by them and didn’t think they’d compare to the physical book, but as I say these days I prefer reading on my Kindle. It makes books more versatile – from being able to set the font at whatever size is more comfortable to your eyes, to not losing your bookmark and having to dog ear the pages.

Morgen: A win-win. What was your first acceptance and is being accepted still a thrill?

Gary: Tarnished Star was my first novel sale and yes it’s a thrill every time.

Morgen: What are you working on at the moment / next?

Gary: A new western to see print next year, the final draft of my horror novel and the script for the movie of Tarnished Star, which will be called LawMaster and should start shooting early next year.

Morgen: I know how busy you are (and we miss you in Litopia’s chatroom). Do you manage to write every day?

Gary: I think you’ve got to write every day, even if only for an hour or so, but I usually write for a minimum of four hours a day and set a target of at least 2000 words.

Morgen: Wow. What is your opinion of writer’s block? Do you ever suffer from it? If so, how do you ‘cure’ it?

Gary: I’m not successful enough to suffer writer’s block.

Morgen: That’s funny. Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Gary: I always run with the thing. I start off with the most basic of ideas and develop it from there, but I know this doesn’t work for everyone and some writers have to plot in great detail. Each to their own, I guess.

Morgen: What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Gary: The single most important thing to do if you want to be a published writer is to READ. And cover as many genres as possible, read everything you can get your hands on. Because if you don’t read then quite frankly you haven’t got the tools to be a writer. Developing a thick skin is also important because rejections can hurt, and there’ll be a lot of those. Self-belief is also very important – believe in yourself and eventually others will too.

Morgen: Here, here. What do you like to read?

Gary: Westerns, crime, comedies, fantasy on occasions. I’ve even read the odd Mills and Boons. Oh and I’m a sucker for comic books.

Morgen: Are there any writing-related websites and/or books that you find useful and would recommend?

Gary: Stephen King’s On Writing is all anyone really needs.

Morgen: That’s the most recommended book in these interviews, and every time I see that I nudge myself to dust it off the bookshelf (hopefully not too much dust) and read it. Where can we find out about you and your work?

Gary: I have two blogs: http://tainted-archive.blogspot.com (western) and http://tiny.cc/2jz6r (horror). I’m also on Twitter (http://twitter.com/jackmartinwest), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/gary.m.dobbs) and have a Jack Martin website (http://jackmartinwesterns.webs.com). In these days of the Internet it is very important to be visible.

Morgen: Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

Gary: I would like to see everyone start trying genres that they don’t usually read. For instance check out the western genre as I hear that Jack Martin is very good (hint, hint).

Morgen: Yes, please do.

***

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

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As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).

The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

• Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
• Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group (http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934)
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We look forward to reading your comments.

 

Author interview no.19 with supernatural mystery/horror/scriptwriter Julia Kavan

Welcome to the nineteenth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, directors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. Today’s is with supernatural mystery/horror/scriptwriter and fellow Litopian Julia Kavan. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate the author further. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here.

Morgen: Hi Julia. Please tell us something about yourself and how you came to be a writer.

Julia: I have always been very quiet and as child found I was far more confident as a writer.  I enjoyed challenging people’s ideas on paper. This changed a little when I was a teenager – and I challenged people with my appearance and attitude, I never could fit in. My experience of life and the way I thought meant I was outside the safe zone in which my peers existed. Most people where I lived didn’t know what to make of me – and they probably still don’t! I calmed down when I was twenty. Marriage and children followed and I finally returned to writing around ten years ago. I have worked as a creative writing tutor for most of those years and, although I have pursued publication on and off during that time, it is in the last couple of years that I have really applied myself.

Morgen: Me too, I dabbled for a while then realised that it was actually (pretty much) all I could think about (OK, all, even during the day job). What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

Julia: I usually write horror and supernatural mystery. I also write screenplays – one of which is a fantasy comedy drama. I’ve just started experimenting with other genres – but anything published outside of horror will be under a pen name.

Morgen: Good plan. Once your readers get to know you they expect the same genre from you (which is why Ruth Rendell also writes as Barbara Vine; Joanna Trollope as Caroline Harvey etc.). What have you had published to-date? How much of the marketing do you do?

Julia: My first story to be published is Dreaming, Not Sleeping – an erotic horror short published by Etopia Press and available on Amazon for Kindle. It will also be available as part of an anthology later in the year. I’m still finding my feet when it comes to marketing… getting to know what works and what doesn’t.

Morgen: I think most people are… especially electronically. Are your books available as eBooks? If so what was your experience of that process? And do you read eBooks?

Julia: Dreaming, Not Sleeping is only available as an eBook at the moment and any future publishers I approach are likely to be ePublishers. I have a Kindle and love being able to download books at any time. I read a lot of samples – and I love that option of being able to try before you buy.

Morgen: Like hotel shampoo sachets. What was your first acceptance Julia, and is being accepted still a thrill?

Julia: My first acceptance for publication for was a real thrill – I was very tentative about submitting Dreaming, I was unsure of the recept

ion it would get – so I guess I was thrilled and relieved! Each time I submit something new I’m nervous. I have a couple of WIPs almost ready to go – I’m sure I will be just as excited if they make the grade.

Morgen: Have you had any rejections? If so, how do you deal with them?

Julia: I’ve had more rejections as a screenwriter – simply because I have approached more production companies than publishers. However, I’ve always had really good feedback and now have two scripts with a production company in London. Of course I’m always disappointed if something is rejected – but you just keep going, taking on board any useful comments.

Morgen: You do. What are you working on at the moment / next?

Julia: I am finishing a supernatural mystery novel – and experimenting with some new shorts.

Morgen: I love shorts (though not in the trouser sense of the word, my legs are too pale). Do you manage to write every day? What’s the most you’ve written in a day?

Julia: I try and write every day. I work in a hospital in the mornings, edit and work on internet related bits and pieces in the afternoons and write in the evenings. I would probably write into the early hours – I very often have to make myself go to bed.

Morgen: Bed? Oh yes, that rectangular thing in the other room. Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Julia: Sometimes I have a rough idea of where a story is heading – but often find myself going in a different direction. I can also be a bit of a jigsaw puzzle writer. I can be in a particular frame of mind and write scenes which come easily at those times – I then end up with some random passages which are linked into the main story later on in the writing process.

Morgen: Yep, sounds like me. Do you have pieces of work that you think will never see light of day?

Julia: Yes. Good stuff it is too…

Morgen: Maybe you could sneak it out somewhere when no-one’s looking. What’s your favourite / least favourite aspect of your writing life?

Julia: Writing is a solitary affair. I like my own company and enjoy shutting myself away to write, but it can sometimes feel lonely – although I’m never really alone thanks to the community of writers I’ve discovered online. There are often writers I know on Twitter and Facebook – and it’s nice to say hi to someone doing the same as you when you think you are on your own.

Morgen: I love being alone, but yes it’s great having people online, especially when they know what we go through. What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Julia: Seek honest feedback – but don’t try to change to suit everybody. Trust in your own voice. Don’t worry too much about the rules.

Morgen: Rules? What are they? What do you like to read?

Julia: Horror – mostly psychological. Aside from that… anything that makes me think or question what I believe I know. If a writer can leave me unsettled or unsure about something I thought I knew about myself they’ve done a good job. I like to be surprised and/or shocked…or maybe even made to fall in love!

Morgen: A good story provokes a reaction and/or makes people think for a while afterwards. Are there any writing-related websites and/or books that you find useful and would recommend?

Julia: Stephen King’s Danse Macabre and On Writing.

Morgen: Ah yes, On Writing again. A very popular choice; maybe I should buy some shares. Are you on any forums or networking sites? If so, how valuable do you find them?

Julia: I have been a member of Litopia Writer’s Colony (http://www.litopia.com) for two years – that’s where you are most likely to find me lurking (as Seneca) when I’m writing. It’s a brilliant place to spend time with writers from all sorts of genres – and I don’t think there is a better site to get feedback on your writing.

Morgen: It is isn’t it? I just wish I’d found it months before I did. Where can we find out about you and your work?

Julia: You can read about me, and find excerpts from Dreaming, Not Sleeping and other work on my website (http://www.juliakavan.com), and Twitter (http://twitter.com/Seneca24) is where you’ll find me rambling in the evenings.

Morgen: Thanks Julia, lovely to ‘meet’ you again. As Julia mentioned, we know each other through the online radio station ‘Litopia’ (http://litopia.com); c. 60-90 minute live author panel / chatroom shows every Friday 8pm (UK time) and phone-in / Skype-in / game / chatroom shows every Sunday evening 6.30pm (UK time). We have such fun and it’s writing-related so do come by… and you never know we could be chatting for real on a Sunday night (it doesn’t take much to get me to Skype in… and I was their first video guest last Sunday).

***

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008E88JN0 for outside the UK **

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel, which is serialised on Novel Nights In!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).

The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

• Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
• Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group (http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934)
• Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group (http://scriptwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/319941328108017)
• Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group (http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445)

We look forward to reading your comments.

 

Author interview no.12 with novelist Joseph V Sultana

Welcome to the twelfth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, directors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. Today’s is with medieval post-apocalyptic novelist and fellow Litopian Joseph V Sultana. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate the author further. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found at http://morgenbailey.wordpress.com/blog-interviews. Today is fellow Litopian and friend Joseph V Sultana (hence some of my tongue-in-cheek replies).

Morgen: Hi Joe. Please tell us something about yourself and how you came to be a writer.

JVS: Where do I start? I am such an exciting person to know… I don’t drink, don’t smoke. I hate all sports and enjoy cooking, shopping… and surprisingly I am heterosexual. I started writing as a kid I guess making up stories in my head or trying my hand at the odd script etc. But I didn’t attempt anything on a serious level until I started ‘Unsceptred Isle’ and that was because of a bet that I came second in.

Morgen: Second out of two? What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

JVS: Not too sure about this ‘genre’ label thing. The story is set in a post apocalyptic future with a dystopian / medieval flavour. I’ve been placed in Fiction / Fantasy / Contemporary on Amazon and Sci Fi by friends. So I really do not know. Maybe you can tell me.

Morgen: Er… What have you had published to-date? How much of the marketing do you do?

JVS: Only ‘Three of a Kind’ so far. But I do have at least three more in this series and one other, a time travel comedy inbetween.

Morgen: Are your books available as eBooks? If so what was your experience of that process? And do you read eBooks?

JVS: Mine are exclusively ebooks and the reasons are simple. The traditional publishers are not too interested in nurturing new writers at the moment unless the writer is top notch, like Rowling or Archer. Us newbies are seen as an overhead too far during the recession and I have to add I don’t blame them. The second reason is that I love tech and innovation. Much to the disgust of my wife who dreads me going out alone in fear of the next gadget turning up. Ebooks are great, it’s like living through the age when the printing press was made available to the masses. I would say most of us who want to write are driven by just that. We want to write. Yes the money is a lovely addition, but it’s not the main reason. I wanted to get this book out and be read, even if by only one person. I have achieved that. Big box ticked. The process has been relatively easy to be honest. I found Book Sanctuary, a start-up project in the ebook-only publishing arena. So a quick email with a follow-up phone call convinced me that this would be a great partnership. I knew I could have done this alone but I wanted the comfort of a hand to hold. We are both learning the trade and to be honest, even at forty eight I can still be taught a thing or three.

Morgen: I like your definition of (presumable Jeffrey rather than Geoffrey) Archer as being ‘top notch’, sorry Jeffrey Archer fans. What was your first acceptance and is being accepted still a thrill?

JVS: Oh god yeah it’s possibly the fifth best feeling I’ve ever had in my life. The others being having the two children, getting married, losing my virginity and finishing the novel. They are not in chronological order by the way.

Morgen: Have you had any rejections? If so, how do you deal with them?

JVS: Yeah of course. I have the first one framed and in the loft where it belongs. I hate the term rejection, a word that makes it a lot more personal than it is. As a writer, when you send off your latest scribble to someone you are asking people to dissect it, break it down and tell you what is wrong with it, not what is right. They are not attacking you or your offspring, but some make it feel as though they are. My secret is this: whilst it is true that some cannot take criticism, there are just as many who cannot give it.

Morgen: What are you working on at the moment / next?

JVS: The sequel to Three of a Kind, it has no name other than Book 2 at the moment, and no I cannot tell you anything about it, sorry.

Morgen: Do you manage to write every day? What’s the most you’ve written in a day?

JVS: I wished, I do however constantly think about the story and what ingredients that will go into the pot. So when I do come to sit at the netbook my writing is of a quality that is acceptable to me.

Morgen: Too busy tweeting? What is your opinion of writer’s block? Do you ever suffer from it? If so, how do you ‘cure’ it?

JVS: Hate it, but I don’t worry about it. If I don’t have my writing head on and if I try to force it, the result is worse than having nothing. The beauty of my deal with Book Sanctuary is I set the deadlines not them. While I also know it’s not for everyone but it suits me.

Morgen: Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

JVS: I did try plotting but found I wasted so much time in looking at different systems that I wasn’t writing so I let the story build itself as I went on.

Morgen: Do you have pieces of work that you think will never see light of day?

JVS: Yes, don’t we all. I have culled thousands and thousands of words and they are now forgotten as well as whole story ideas. But that’s a writer’s life. Or is it just me?

Morgen: No, not just you, although I hope you copied / pasted those “thousands and thousands of words” rather than deleted them in case you can use them somewhere else? What’s your favourite / least favourite aspect of your writing life?

JVS: I hate the ridicule from small-minded individuals that take great pleasure in belittling anyone at any opportunity. But then these people may have never read a book in their lives and are never likely too either. What I love is the surprises I come up with after I’ve written something. And the pride my family have for me.

Morgen: Ahh… (despite seeing little of you). What advice would you give aspiring writers?

JVS: Write. Write anything you can, and anything you need or want to. I’m so glad you said aspiring as I don’t like the term amateur. To my mind you are only amateur if you only think or talk about writing. If you have written anything, then you are an unpublished author.

Morgen: What do you like to read?

JVS: Mainly sci fi and comedy, the odd playboy, writing magazine and the sun. Am a big Lee Child fan but have not read anything of his in case the Reacher character encroaches into the Maitland character.

Morgen: Hee hee (how ‘odd’ are the Playboy magazines?). Are there any writing-related websites and / or books that you find useful and would recommend?

JVS: Oh God yes … I read yours of course as well as joining in with Litopia. But what I have found is that websites, like books, are not all one fit. Some I just cannot read because of the style or the layout of the navigation has a flawed logic. So all I will recommend is that people need to do their own research find the sites that work for them and don’t forget to bookmark it when you happy. Lol

Morgen: You’re very kind and yes, Litopia (http://litopia.com) is great – I just wish I’d found it when it started c. 2007 rather than late 2010). In which country are you based and do you find this a help or hindrance with letting people know about your work?

JVS: I am based in the UK but fell in love with my dad’s country of Malta. Maybe one day I can retire there, who knows.

Morgen: On your royalties. Are you on any forums or networking sites? If so, how invaluable do you find them?

JVS: Obviously I do the Twitter and Facebook thang, but am new to networking so I am paying attention. I don’t do Linkedin not sure I trust it yet, but that’s just me.

Morgen: LinkedIn’s great although another time distraction (I’m part of nine writing forums and the emailed comments fly in all the time). Where can we find out about you and your work Joe?

JVS: I have a web site http://www.unsceptred-isle.com and of course ‘Three of a Kind’ is on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Morgen: We can also read interviews with Joe at http://www.colinfbarnes.com/2011/indie-publishing/joseph-v-sultana and http://www.booksanctuary.co.uk/blog/40-introducing-joseph-v-sultana-author.html. Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

JVS: Just to say that for me writing is a way of getting myself into another world, and I love finding out about that world and the people that dwell inside it. Also I want to thank you for your interest in me and my work, and the advice and help you and your other Litopians have given me.

Morgen: Ah thanks Joe… you’re very welcome but I love doing what I do, which is what it’s all about, isn’t it?

***

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008E88JN0 for outside the UK **

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel, which is serialised on Novel Nights In!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).

The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

• Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
• Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group (http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934)
• Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group (http://scriptwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/319941328108017)
• Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group (http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445)

We look forward to reading your comments.

 

Author interview no.5 with novelist Sue Roebuck

Welcome to the fifth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, directors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. Today’s is with mixed genre author Sue Roebuck. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate the author further. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here.

Morgen: Hello, Sue. Please tell us something about yourself and how you came to be a writer.

Sue: I live in Portugal, although I’m British, and I love the easy way of life here (even if we’re all tightening our belts at the moment, but then who isn’t?). I’ve always been a writer of some kind or another and my favourite subject at school was English (I was a real nerd because I jumped for joy when it was Drama or Composition Writing). My family are all artistic – my grandmothers were, my father wrote and my brother was just an all-round genius (you should see the caricatures he made of me when I was little, talk about fat!). My brother was my real muse – I could give him a mere suggestion and he’d turn it into a full-blown story in seconds.

Morgen: Wow. Mine’s a great editor. What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

Sue: I don’t know. LOL. Genres rule me. My published novel falls between genres. When people see it marked M/M (gay), they immediately pigeon-hole it into erotic which makes me mad because it’s not even explicit, it’s more suspense and just happens to be about two homosexual men. Reviewers have called it, “light literary” which suits me fine. I’ve also got a short story coming out in an Anthology soon which is horror / fantasy (more or less) and I’m currently writing a novella which I’d like to be soft horror, but it’s turning out to be inspirational – how weird is that? As I say – genres rule me.

Morgen: I write pretty much everything. I avoid sci-fi (although not intentionally, I just don’t read it) but wrote a piece for Story A Day May 2011 and one reader said it was his favourite so maybe I should write more of it! What have you had published to-date? How much of the marketing do you do?

Sue: My novel, Perfect Score, was published by Awe-Struck Publishing and later Mundania Press (e-book and now paperback) in September 2010 and May 2011. How much marketing? Boy oh boy – too much!! It’s a full-time job and I’m no marketer. I MUCH prefer writing, but that’s life these days. I am cutting down though because I really just want to write.

Morgen: If you count this blog as marketing then I too am doing more of it than writing but when we have to (like for Story A Day and NaNoWriMo) we find the time, don’t we. Do you have an agent? Do you think they’re vital to an author’s success?

Sue: Not really, not just now anyway. I was a debut novelist when I went on the submission circuit. I approached agents but they’re all so busy and I wasn’t, probably, hitting the right ones anyway. It’s very difficult to write the synopsis or pitch they want (and they all want something different). After twenty rejections I decided to try publishers directly. I knew I wasn’t going to get much joy from the big boys so I tried smaller, independent publishers. I got a lot of interest from them. One publisher said they’d love the book if I’d work with one of their editors to make it more erotic but I didn’t really want to do that (it didn’t suit the characters). Then two other acceptances came in on the same day! I do believe having an agent to protect your interests and to promote your career is excellent, but at this time I can’t expect that luxury. I would like an agent in the future though if one came along.

Morgen: You mentioned Perfect Score is an eBook, what was your experience of that process? And do you read eBooks?

Sue: Yes, Perfect Score was published first as an eBook. It worked very well – the publishers did everything, the cover art, formatting and I had a wonderful editor (Marie Dees) who “got” the theme perfectly. The publisher kept to their deadlines and published when they said they would, the royalties (ahem, not a lot) come in on time. I’m obviously not going to get rich this way but you never know in the future… Yes I do read eBooks but I still read paperbacks. It depends what comes to hand.

Morgen: I think most people do / will still read paperbacks. eBooks are convenience on the move, aren’t they. What was your first acceptance and is being accepted still a thrill?

Sue: I cried when Perfect Score was accepted because it was a confirmation that the book was readable (my biggest doubt) and that someone wanted it.

Morgen: Have you had any rejections? If so, how do you deal with them?

Sue: Rejections are hell! It’s a terrible experience because they send you into the realms of self-doubt. I didn’t, fortunately, dwell on them – just put them into a folder and I don’t think I looked at them again. I understand the process of rejections and that form-letters have to be sent because publishers and agents receive thousands of submissions, but they still hurt.

Morgen: I’m the same. My rejections are in a red folder (and acceptances in a blue one, sadly the former currently outweighing the latter). What are you working on at the moment / next?

Sue: I’m on the horror novella that is turning into inspirational (how did that happen?) LOL. But my main project is a full-length novel which will be suspense. It won’t be M/M. Perfect Score was M/M because it worked best for the characters. This one (currently called When the Moon Fails) is set between the UK and Portugal and US. It features fishermen and a very very bad female bullfighter. I hate corruption and injustice (themes that are very much to the fore in Perfect Score) and they’ll be raising their ugly heads again in When the Moon Fails.

Morgen: You said that your marketing has been outweighing your writing, do you manage to write every day? What’s the most you’ve written in a day?

Sue: I try. Sometimes I mess about on the internet. You see, the marketing side of this business is extremely time-consuming – there’s the blog, the contacts, the groups, Facebook, Twitter, reading and commenting on other blogs, finding other marketing outlets – the other day I did my first professional interview for a newspaper (that was an experience – and I had to speak Portuguese!). Phew! I don’t know what the most I’ve written is. Probably not much because I’m a slow writer.

Morgen: I’m lucky that I think quickly and type quickly, I just need to sit down and do it. What is your opinion of writer’s block? Do you ever suffer from it? If so, how do you ‘cure’ it?

Sue: Only when I was plunged into an acute depression which unfortunately came after a serious illness a couple of years ago. But I’m out of that now, thank God, and the juices are running again. There was no cure in this case, I think. I just gradually crept back into it.

Morgen: Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Sue: Yes, I know the beginning, middle and end, and something about the characters. But the stories tend to run themselves when I get going and I always need to “layer” the characters. Often the final ending is not what I had in mind initially. Perfect Score had twenty-seven versions!

Morgen: Good grief – I’m lucky then with four edits for two of mine. Do you have pieces of work that you think will never see light of day?

Sue: Only those I wrote years ago, and I’m not always sure where they are (gulp). I wrote a ghost story many years ago which I loved, but I can’t find it now and don’t think I can reproduce it.

Morgen: What’s your favourite / least favourite aspect of your writing life?

Sue: Isolation is my least favourite and also people’s comments that it’s not a real job, I’m just playing. I also hate people’s reactions to Perfect Score and the fact it’s M/M. Some immediately jump to the conclusion it’s just another “Brokeback Mountain” – I’ve had that comment, and others have said “I don’t think it’s my kind of thing” when they don’t even know what it’s about. My favourite? I just love it when I’m in “full flow”. It’s better than any high that drugs or alcohol can give you. A real adrenalin rush.

Morgen: It’s funny, Sherri Dub said on Tuesday that she hates the solitude, I love it. What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Sue: Keep at it and have confidence in yourself. If you think something’s wrong with your writing, it probably is. So go with your instincts and seek professional editing help if you think you need to. Don’t ask your family and friends to help because they won’t give you honest answers. But never give up. If you really love writing, then you’re a writer and people will want to read your work.

Morgen: My mother does. What do you like to read?

Sue: Anything and everything. It does depend on my mood. I’ll go light if necessary or heavy if I’m feeling intelligent enough. I’m reading The Morville Hours by Katherine Swift which is literary, but I’ve just read On My Knees by Tristram La Roche which is erotic M/M – so if that’s not eclectic….

Morgen: Are you on any forums or networking sites? If so, how invaluable do you find them?

Sue: www.litopia.com (I’m suemont there), http://www.facebook.com/SuRoebuck, http://twitter.com/#!/suemonte; I don’t know if they’re invaluable, but I have to have them LOL.

Morgen: Where can we find out about you and your work?

Sue: http://lauracea.blogspot.com (my blog).

Morgen: Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

Sue: Thank you having me, Morgen!

Morgen: You’re so welcome, Sue, it’s been a pleasure to catch up with you outside of Facebook and Litopia, thank you.

***

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008E88JN0 for outside the UK **

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel, which is serialised on Novel Nights In!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).

The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

• Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
• Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group (http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934)
• Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group (http://scriptwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/319941328108017)
• Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group (http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445)

We look forward to reading your comments.

 

Author interview no.1 with horror / thriller / sci-fi writer Colin Barnes

I’m delighted to bring you the first of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, directors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. I announced the request for interviewees on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn only a couple of days ago and the response has been incredible. Already I have received over 40 replies and so hope to bring you, on average, an interview a day. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate the author further. Kicking off the series is fellow Litopian Colin Barnes.

Morgen: Hello, Colin. Please tell us something about yourself and how you came to be a writer.

Colin: I’m a misanthrope but have an interest in the psychology of people. Writing for me is a way of exploring how humans work without having to socially interact with them. My writing started when I was about 8, I found it easier to get my points of view across with the written word than with speech. It’s stuck around ever since.

Morgen: What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

Colin: All my work tends to be in the darker genres (horror, thriller, sci-fi), I’ve tried writing lighter-hearted stuff, but it just doesn’t come naturally to me, and there is something very appealing about exploring the darker side of life.

Morgen: Although my longest pieces of work are light (chick- / lad-lit novels) I often write, and probably enjoy most, finding my dark side. What have you had published to-date, and how much of the marketing do you do?

Colin: I have three short stories coming out in an anthology that I’ve co-written with a American author (I can send more details in the summer when it’s released).

Morgen: That sounds great – short stories are my first love, reacquainted thanks to the http://storyaday.org project I undertook in May 2011. Do you have an agent? Do you think they’re vital to an author’s success?

Colin: I don’t have one, but my long-term aim is to have one. I personally think they are very useful, providing a much needed buffer between author and publisher, and (hopefully) provide long-term career advice.

Morgen: It’s said that it’s more difficult to secure an agent than a publisher, but definitely worth persevering. Are your books available as eBooks? If so what was your experience of that process? And do you read eBooks?

Colin: My anthology will be an ebook. I read a lot of ebooks. I read them on my iPhone, and kindle. I like that I can have a vast library of books in such a small space. I still like regular books though, and can see a future for both mediums going forward.

Morgen: That’s what I’ve been hearing. What was your first acceptance and is being accepted still a thrill?

Colin: My first acceptance was for the upcoming anthology, and it was certainly a big thrill. There’s one thing writing and having friends and family like it, but having a completely unrelated third party accept you work gives you a sense of validation that gives you the confidence to carry on.

Morgen: Absolutely. Novelist Jane Davis (http://www.jane-davis.co.uk) and I were talking about this in special episode 25 of my Bailey’s Writing Tips podcast (links in ‘Where to find me’). Have you had any rejections? If so, how do you deal with them?

Colin: Loads and loads. I don’t get down about them. It’s a rite of passage for any writer, it’s just a case of getting enough until you reach the ‘yes.’

Morgen: As the saying goes “A successful writer is one who didn’t give up”. What are you working on at the moment / next?

Colin: I have a number of projects I’m working on. I’ve just completed the first draft of a novel. I’m plotting out another that I will be writing as part of the Clarion Writeathon, and in the meantime I’m also writing a Novella that I’ll be self-publishing as an ebook, and finally, I’m writing a serial on my website. So I’m very busy.

Morgen: I’ve heard good things about Clarion from sources such as the ‘I should be writing’ podcast but very intensive and expensive so the Writeathon (http://www.theclarionfoundation.org/writeathon/wrtn-home.htm) sounds perfect! Do you manage to write every day? What’s the most you’ve written in a day?

Colin: I always get something down each day. I usually aim for around 3k, but sometimes I only get 500 depending on my work load (I’m also studying for an English degree, so that takes up some time too.) I have writing binges on my day off where I get the bulk of my writing done. The most I’ve written in a single day was 12.5k.

Morgen: 500 is still a great achievement. 500 words a day = 3500 a week = 175,000 a year = an epic novel or two healthy 90K-worders. You’ve beaten my best by miles (9,337) which was for http://nanowrimo.org November 2010 (the last day!). What is your opinion of writer’s block? Do you ever suffer from it? If so, how do you ‘cure’ it?

Colin: I don’t believe it exists. It’s simply an excuse not to write. If one is ‘blocked’ it’s because there isn’t a clear path of where to go, or a problem that needs sorting first. If I get this, I simply go back and think of where I’ve gone wrong and restart. Or, if I simply cannot be bothered, I’ll switch to another project. I truly think there is no such thing as writers block (or muses), it’s simply a matter of sitting down and doing the work no matter what.

Morgen: I agree. I’d say if a writer’s stuck, move on (to later in the same piece or something different) and come back to it, by which time, hopefully, you’ll have forgotten why you were stuck in the first place. Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Colin:  I’m mostly a plotter for long projects. For short stories I tend to construct the story in my head as a series of scenes, and write a few notes before writing it out in full. For novels and novellas I’m an obsessive plotter – I like to know where I’m going so I can keep up the intensity.

Morgen: Do you have pieces of work that you think will never see light of day?

Colin:  Hundreds. Some that just aren’t up to scratch. Some that approach subjects that would never be seen as acceptable, and others that are just so personal that if I ever released them I would fear for my personal safety.

Morgen: I like that, and oh, how familiar. What’s your favourite / least favourite aspect of your writing life?

Colin: Most favourite has to be creating something out of nothing, and seeing others enjoy my work. Least favourite? That has to be the often insurmountable obstacles one has to get through to get the work out.

Morgen: Walking the dog, housework, the garden, the ping of emails… What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Colin: Shut up, sit down, and write.

Morgen: Because you can’t edit a blank page. What do you like to read?

Colin: So many things. I like short story anthologies, love old stuff like HP Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith. I like anything from Ray Bradbury to Albert Camus. Of course there are the standard favourites such as King and Mieville – I love all sorts.

Morgen: I really liked Albert Camus’ ‘The Outsider’ (‘The Stranger’). Are there any writing-related websites and/or books that you find useful and would recommend?

Colin: Not really, I think there are too many websites and books giving advice (often incorrectly). The only one I could recommend would be Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’.

Morgen: I have it, it’s excellent (and highly recommended). In which country are you based and do you find this a help or hindrance with letting people know about your work?

Colin: I’m in the UK – can’t say it’s been a help or hindrance. I suppose with it being a smaller market might make things harder, but these days it’s a global market so I wouldn’t necessarily say there’s a particular disadvantage.

Morgen: It must help that we speak English. Are you on any forums or networking sites? If so, how invaluable do you find them?

Colin: Litopia and Twitter – both are very important to me. Mostly for camaraderie, but also for the shared critiquing and workshopping of ideas. Also, it was through social networking that I met my publisher for the summer anthology. It’s a great way of belonging to a community without having the real-life social responsibilities (great for a misanthrope).

Morgen: I use them both and love them both, and miss Litopia’s After Dark and Open House (Sundays) when it’s not on. Where can we find out about you and your work?

Colin:  The best place would probably my site: www.colinfbarnes.com and my twitter profile: http://twitter.com/colin_barnes.

Morgen: Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

Colin: Thanks for the opportunity, It’s been fun, I always enjoy reading your website, and hope you keep up the fine work.

Morgen: You’re so welcome (and thank you). It’s been a pleasure to ‘meet’ you.

***

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008E88JN0 for outside the UK **

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel, which is serialised on Novel Nights In!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).

The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

• Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
• Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group (http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934)
• Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group (http://scriptwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/319941328108017)
• Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group (http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445)

We look forward to reading your comments.

 

New feature: blog interviews

I’m a member of nine writing-related LinkedIn forums and just a few days ago on one of them I spotted the opportunity of being a guest blog interviewee. I was invited to answer some questions, which I did, and found it fun (as I did with a Who Hub interview a while back). Having also read comments from two other LinkedIn members, both offering the same service, one saying that she was currently closed for submissions (due to numbers received), the other picking up the gauntlet, I then (on Wednesday this week) threw mine into the ring and received 40 acceptances in the first 24 hours (with more coming in all the time… hoorah!).

Now armed with over a dozen completed questionnaires already, I’m planning on releasing one a day on this blog and the first, later today, will be from my fellow Radio Litopia colleague, horror / thriller / sci-fi writer Colin Barnes (www.colinfbarnes.com).

If you write (fiction or non-fiction) and would like to take part then all you need to do is email me at morgen@morgenbailey.com and I’ll send you the questions. You complete them, I tweak them (to reflect the blog ‘clean and light’ rating) where appropriate and then they join the queue to get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link (which will also automatically appear on my morgenwriteruk Twitter and Facebook pages) so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog and would like to interview me… let me know.

 

Interview with crime writer Gary M Dobbs (aka western writer Jack Martin)

My interview with Gary is now available as a podcast via Google Feedburner, iTunes etc. (links on my website http://morgenbailey.com or in the ‘Where to find me’ menu of this blog). The references mentioned during our conversation included:

• Gary’s Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Martin_%28entertainer%29
• Moonmonkeys (written by The Nimmo Twins: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nimmo_Twins)
• The Big I-am: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1225302
• Lark Rise to Candleford: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lark_Rise_to_Candleford_%28TV_series%29
• Author of ‘Edge’ books Terry Harknett: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Harknett
• Burn Hand Films: http://www.burnhandfilms.com
• Gary’s crime novel ‘A Policeman’s Lot’ (http://solsticepublishing.com/a-policemans-lot-p-102.html
• Robert Hale article: http://blackhorsewesterns.com/bhe22
• Jack Martin’s blog: http://tainted-archive.blogspot.com
• Gary M Dobbs’ blog: http://www.freewebs.com/garydobbs
• Jack’s westerns on Robert Hale Books website: http://www.halebooks.com/display.asp?K=9780709088899&pge=hale&st2=not+67351&sort=sort_date%2Fd&sf1=Keyword&sf2=lcode&x=17&st1=jack+martin&y=10&m=1&dc=2 and http://www.halebooks.com/display.asp?K=9780709087618&pge=hale&st2=not+67351&sort=sort_date%2Fd&sf1=Keyword&sf2=lcode&x=17&st1=jack+martin&y=10&m=2&dc=2

The interview took place via Skype and we had some sound interference along the way so apologies in advance for that and I hope it doesn’t detract from your enjoyment of the episode. You can also read my blog interview with Gary here (Sunday 26.06.11).

 

Latest podcast – Review of my time spent at Oundle Literature Festival (day 1)

Special episode 16 is now available; the first day I spent at last month’s literature festival at Oundle, Northamptonshire, England. At just under 10 minutes, the episode features Young Sherlock Holmes author Andy Lane (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Lane) who gave a talk on his writing at the lunch time session then the evening featured ‘Philosophy Bites’ author Nigel Warburton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigel_Warburton).

Days 2-5 will be recorded at future special episodes along with my interview with western / crime writer and fellow Litopian Jack Martin (http://jackmartinwesterns.webs.com and http://tainted-archive.blogspot.com). You may be also be interested in special episode 12 which featured my interviews with Oundle Committee Members Paula Prince and (Chairman) Nick Turnbull.

Links to the podcasts can be found on my website (http://morgenbailey.com) and the ‘Where to find me’ menu of this blog.

 

Radio Litopia takes a hiatus

Radio Litopia is taking a break until the end of May/early June… to be exact Friday’s Litopia After Dark (LAD) is back on in 42 days’ time and Sunday’s Open House in 50 days. As far as I know, the forum and chat rooms will be still be operational but most importantly, the radio itself will be and you can hear back issues of both programmes with Donna’s ‘The Debriefer’ episodes, music and interviews in between. So, if you’ve never heard (or heard of) Litopia… then do swing by http://www.litopia.com/radio/live-listen-chat or http://www.litopia.com/radio for some literary fun.

 

Litopia After Dark (LAD) – every Friday night @ 8pm (3pm EST/noon PST)

Every Friday night (c. lunchtime in the US) Radio Litopia hosts a live, fun-but-ever-so-slightly-mad panel show called ‘Litopia After Dark’. If you click on http://www.litopia.com/radio/live-listen-chat (which you can do any time) you can listen in and log in (you don’t have to register but it does help… and it’s all free…) to join the panellists (and AgentPete / EveHarvey) and have your say in the chat room. You can give yourself a pseudonym (the wackier the better but no spaces) and Eve will report what we say throughout the programme. It’s best to log in about half an hour before the programme as the inane and sometime ane (if there’s such a word) chatter starts kicking off around then, before getting started around the 8pm (3pm/noon) mark. It then lasts about an hour and a half and eventually (with or without Pete’s editing) gets released on their website and iTunes (other outlets are available) and you’ll wonder where the time has gone. You’ve still got time (just about) to listen to a previous show so you know what you’re letting yourself in for (a treat, unless you have a really weak constitution) and a great example (I’m biased as I was a panellist that evening) is http://www.litopia.com/radio/taking-it-up-the-amis. The other live event of the week is Sunday night’s Open House which starts 6.30pm (1.30pm EST / 11.30am PST) where you can Skype or phone in about any topic you like as well as join in lots of games and be challenged to the drinking game.

 

Playing games on Radio Litopia

I joined Eve Harvey and Agent Pete in “the internet’s first and foremost online radio show” Radio Litopia’s Open House last Sunday. Pete had invented a new game… well, not new but his version of the classic ‘Charades’; the show is now available as a podcast and/or you can listen to it at http://www.litopia.com/radio/new-pies-and-tarts-for-penitents or  http://tiny.cc/tyftg (I join them at 32 minutes in). The chatroom said I was the only one brave enough to Skype in but it’s not being brave… I love taking part and it’s everyone else who’s missing out. Open House takes place every Sunday at 6.30pm UK time (1.30pm Eastern time) and is about an hour / 90 minutes, although I’d recommend getting there 15-30 minutes beforehand as the chat room hots up (especially as the chat room does sometimes get full).

If you use the link http://www.litopia.com/radio/live-listen-chat you can listen as the show goes out and chat with other writers in the chat room about whatever Eve and Pete are talking about (anything and everything) or, as we so often do, go off at a tangent. Eve then reports back on what we’re chatting about (clean or otherwise!) so you can get yourself a mention or three. During the evening we play a host of games including choose a title for the show, limerick, anagrams, and the one I find impossible, where Pete’s recorded a book title, film etc and then plays it backwards! Although I did win a room in the Litopia mansion (Bailey’s Creative Doghouse; where we’ll be talking all about rejections once the ‘house’ is fully-formed).

If you can’t make Sunday then there’s always the panel show ‘Litopia After Dark’ on a Friday night (8pm UK / 3pm Eastern). I was a panellist back in February (http://www.litopia.com/radio/taking-it-up-the-amis) and talked about the then forthcoming World Book Night (the million book giveaway which divided the panel), had to pitch Thomas Edison’s ‘The Liver Complaint’ with a new angle (and score on the panel’s books)… again it was great fun and I’m now Eve’s reserve if she ever gets caught short of contributors.

But, as Pete says… to make sure you don’t miss out, you can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes, email etc. and there are links dotted around the site (including the Feb link above). Not only can you listen again to the shows but there are extras such as Donna’s Debriefer and you can read the superb magazine Muse for FREE! Or if you can’t wait that long (although Sunday isn’t that far away now) listen anytime and chances are there’ll be a recorded episode playing on http://www.litopia.com/radio… I’m listening to last Sunday’s as I type this!

 

Litopia was hilarious tonight

If you didn’t make it (where were you?), please call by next Sunday… AgentPete keeps coming up with these wonderful new games – it was hilarious! If you can’t make Sundays (6.30pm UK time) then there’s always Friday nights ‘After Dark’. http://www.litopia.com is where it’s happening.

 

Litopia’s Open House has just started

but it’s not too late to join us… http://www.litopia.com/radio/live-listen-chat

 

Litopia and Twitter

I’m involved in Radio Litopia, the fun Friday (8pm – Litopia After Dark) and Sunday (6.30pm – Open House) internet radio show with follow-along chatroom (where you can take part!) as contributor, occasional Eve-cover and guest panelist. And we’re both on Twitter; check out http://twitter.com/litopia and my http://twitter.com/morgenwriteruk (morgenbailey was already taken, though sadly not used since August 2009!) and http://twitter.com/sentencestarts. SentenceStarts is a regular tweet of sentence beginnings; currently over 1,200 (from a supply of 3,000+).

 

Welcome to my blog

I’m Morgen Bailey, host of Bailey’s Writing Tips podcast (which you can subscribe to via iTunes, Google’s Feedburner, Podbean (when it catches up), Podcasters (which takes even longer!) or Podcast Alley (which doesn’t list the episodes but will let you subscribe). My website is www.morgenbailey.com where you can also click on the ‘Weekly Tips podcast’ link on the menu toolbars at the top or bottom of any of the website’s pages for details of each episode available to-date. It also details the questions I’ve asked in the special episodes: interviews with Northampton Literature Group’s Poetry Circle lead Julia Tonkinson, romance novelist/judge/short story writer Sue Moorcroft, short story writer/tutor Joanna Barnden, western novelist Jack Martin, poet / lyricist Louis J Casson and novelists Jane Lovering and Judith Allnatt recorded and available.

Future interviews planned with Jack Martin in April to discuss his crime writing, and I shall also be speaking with Lesley Cookman that month. In May Nobilis Reed and I will be talking erotica and I shall be meeting with poet Chris Ringrose, then I’ll be meeting crime writer Adrian Magson in June. I shall also be interviewing novelists Sally Spedding and Jane Davis (dates tbc). and currently have interview slots free for July onwards; if you write (published or otherwise) and think you’d make an interesting subject, do email me.

Other special episodes include no. 5, my review of the mid-November Chorleywood Literature Festival, and no. 12 is an interview with two of the Committee Members of Oundle Literature Festival, at which I volunteered mid-March, so hope to bring a review of that shortly (probably as special episode 13). You can also read an interview with me at Who Hub.

I hope you enjoy looking through this and my website. Feel free to email me at morgen@morgenbailey.com. Thank you for visiting and do pop by again soon for updated contents.