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Saturday 4 May 2013

Indie House Books Interview



Indie House Books logoTranscription of Interview presently being hosted by 
Indie House Books


IHB: Briefly describe your journey in writing your book.

Catherine: On a cold, wet day in the middle of Northern France, I was stuck in a tent on holiday with my family. We are a family of readers so we were all lying on our camping beds reading our books quietly. I cannot remember what I was reading as I had strangely started to write some mini scenery plots down as a break from reading. The memory is vague, but I know I wrote everything by hand (as no electricity and certainly no wifi in camping). I wrote lots of descriptive paragraphs on an A4 pad. I then cut out each paragraph and began to move the order of them around. This hand written method lasted for approximately a year and once I had a real plot with real people in a good order (paragraphs literally cut and pasted to larger pieces of paper), I then typed it all up on a desk top computer (lap tops were expensive then).

Today everything is typed on a lap top and the cutting and pasting is much easier. I have developed a style whereby I simply write and write and write, without editing or proofing. Then when I am approximately three quarters of the way through my plot, I will go back and begin the editing. The process of editing will happen many times by reading the whole thing through and making constant changes, at least 20-30 times.

IHB: What do you hope readers will take from your writing?

Catherine: Always treat others as you would expect them to treat yourself. I hope that my readers will get the same as I do when I read a book. Excellent likable or hate-able characters. A plot that keeps you turning the pages with its twists and expectations. Descriptive surroundings so the reader feels as though they are in the stage setting. A story that they do not want to finish, but yet they want to know how it ends.

IHB: What is your writing schedule like?

Catherine: I’m actually a bit of a scatterbrain. I love to make lists but then I tend to change the schedule on the lists. I read and write every day. I also have a self employed day job so that has to fit in aswell. I will make a list of the days tasks and stick to it as closely as I can.  If I cannot, then what I didn’t get done goes as more urgent the next day. I don’t necessarily write for my book every day, it could be a promotional day whereby I’m doing written interviews or perhaps finding new free places to market my books. Everyday will involve some task to do with my work as an author, even on holiday.

IHB: What is the toughest part about being a writer and how do you get past it?

Catherine: There are two hard tasks to being a writer. One is the old adage of ‘writers block’. I overcome this one fairly easily by putting a scenario to one of my older children and they often come up with good ideas because they are also avid readers. Sometimes their ideas are enough to move me forward. The second stumbler is being an indie author. Promotion and marketing takes up a lot of my time but at least I cannot blame anyone else if things do not go to plan.

IHB: Where can people find out more about you and your writing?
Catherine: I have a blog where I’m attempting to share my books and other relevant information. It’s early days yet but I’m getting ideas all the time on how to improve it. If any readers pop in and have any ideas on how I can improve it, please let me know.
http://onewomansquestuk.blogspot.co.uk/


IHB: What kinds of books do you like to read?

Catherine: I didn’t take reading seriously until in my thirties when I had to read Charles Dickens and instantly became a fan. I then looked at other English classics and read the Bronte sisters.  My very first fantasy author was the famous Lord of the Rings (before the days of the films). I was then lured to Anne Rice via the character Lastard. I also read her witch tales and loved them all. This gave me a taste of horror and I became enmeshed in Brian Lumley. By now I was loving anything fantasy and my list of favourite authors was continually growing. Robin Hobb, Raymond Feist, I think I could easily fill the page with authors I adore, and it still grows.

IHB: Please give us a brief synopsis about your current book and when and where it is available.

Catherine: Shortly Book 1, Guardian Dragons will be coming to its 90 day end with KDP on Amazon and I will be able to publish the e-copy elsewhere. Once this is accomplished I will release Book 2, Flight of a Chageling via KDP Amazon as a kindle version.

Book 2, Flight of a Changeling immediately follows on from Book 1.

Based on the world of Aarabassa where one half is dark and the other is in constant sunlight. A magic barrier divides the darker characters out of the Lightlands.

Prince Raphael is taken on a pilgrimage to heal his illness, by Rikka the herbal nurse, but all is not as it seems.

Prince Amos and Prince Leon depart on separate quests to invite the various races, including dwarves, centaurs and merpeople, to the Lightlands Council to ready for battle with the creatures of the Darklands

Heather, the Changeling is journeying to the Guardian Dragons lair, meeting with the Forest Keepers on her way. Her final destination, to meet with the monshaad Emperor on the other side.

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Thank you for visiting my author blog. I hope you will consider becoming a member. I also have a Website totally dedicated to my fantasy world of Aarabassa. Pop along if you have the time http://www.onewomansquest.co.uk/