Your Frequently Asked Questions… Answered!
So, when can we read your books?
Well, that’s the rub isn’t it? At the moment, I’m an unpublished author, but hopefully not for too much longer! Follow my journey on this website (I’ll put up all my news on the ‘News’ page, so stay tuned!) as I work towards my ultimate goal of having all you people out there buy my books.
Who is your agent?
I’m about to enter the query process, so let’s all cross our fingers!
As I write this, Book 1 of the ‘Songbird‘ saga is complete.
It’s called ‘Hunters‘ and you’ll find more details about it on this website. So, finding representation is the next – scary – step.
If you’re reading this and have any great advice on this stage of the process, PLEASE feel free to contact me. Advice is gratefully received.
(Or if you’re an agent reading this and you’ve looked at the website and find it at all interesting… drop me a line from the ‘Contact Me‘ page!)
What do you do when you’re not writing?
Lately, I’ve taken up art. I’ve always been kind of artistic, but haven’t done it for years. So, I bought a digital tablet and have started to dabble. Mostly this is so I can create some pictures for this website that are book related without having to pay for commissions that I can’t afford!
If you’re an artist reading this… I’d LOVE to buy art off you all! But I just don’t have the funds… yet. You wait till I’m a millionaire author, though! After buying Wifey the animal sanctuary she’s always wanted, I’ll have a little money left over to splurge!
Oh, and go have a look elsewhere on this website for art that has inspired me and links to the creators. I LOVE artists!
Other than that, I also love to play video games, and read – obviously! Though it’s tough to find time these days. I also really enjoy going to concerts and the theatre. Oh, and I’m a massive film nut with a pretty huge collection of movies.
And I also probably watch far too much TV than is healthy.
So, as a writer, what’s your favorite book?
Oh, good grief, that’s a really difficult question… Where to even start? Okay, so, here are a few:
- ‘Mrs Frisby and the Rats of Nimh‘ by Robert C. O’Brien
This is one of the first books I remember reading as a kid and it still holds a special place in my heart! - ‘War of the Worlds‘ by H.G.Wells
Oldie, but goodie! This is probably the book I’ve read more than any other. It was the one that birthed my love of Science Fiction. - ‘Saga‘ by Brian K Vaughan (Writer) and Fiona Staples (Art)
Yes, it’s a graphic novel, but the writing and art are superb and I love the story. My ‘Songbird’ books owe a lot to this series. - ‘Sunstone‘ by Stjepan Sejic
Another graphic novel, this one is a superbly written love story with a sexy twist. In fact, it’s my favorite love story. It has buckets of emotion and the art is beautiful.
There are too many books to mention here, so I’ll stop. But other writers I love the work of:
Harry Turtledove, Jeffrey Deaver, Timothy Zahn, Mercedes Lackey, Judith Tarr, Gail Simone, Grant Morrison…
ARGH! Okay, I need to stop there before I need a whole ‘nother website!
Do you have writing qualifications?
Nope.
In hindsight I sometimes wish that I had. But I don’t.
I’m purely making my way on natural talent (or lack thereof). I’ll let you guys be the judge. 🙂
What’s your writing process?
Hmm, that’s a good question. I’m not sure I really have one, so I’ll describe what’s happening right now.
I finished a day at work at 5pm, we had some dinner and now Wifey is doing some cross stitch and I’m writing. Or would be if I wasn’t doing this website…
The dog is sleepy, the cats are MIA (they’ll reappear later when they’re hungry!) and we have RuPaul’s Drag Race on in the background.
I’d wager that’s not how most writers do it.
Honestly, though, I find having background noise actually helps me focus my mind on the writing. That probably sounds counter-intuitive, but if I work in silence my brain works faster than my fingers do. I start thinking about plot lines and character development and so on, and end up flitting.
Most of my thinking about the books and story happens in the car on my commute. I’m inspired by music quite a lot. Not the words, but the emotions that certain songs elicit. For instance, listening to something upbeat and pumping gets my mindset into thinking about the action scenes. A romantic song will put my mind in a place where I’m thinking about the love story in the book. At that point Siri becomes my best friend for taking verbal notes so I don’t forget what I was thinking about.
Not sure I’d advise this to everyone, but this is how I work. Each to their own! 🙂
If I want to write a book, what would your advice be?
Just do it.
Everyone has a story to tell, and only you can tell it.
I’ve read enough books to know that there are a million different styles out there. Adult books, kids books, fiction books, non-fiction books, short books, long books, short chapters, long chapters…
It’s easy for me to say this at the moment as I’m not published yet, but the truth is that you’ll never get a book written and published unless you just do it. Don’t give up. The hardest bit is the perseverance.
And there are loads of people out here in the InterWebs world who are in the same place, trying to do the same thing. Reach out and connect!
That includes me. If you want to drop me a line to chat about your project then feel free to drop me a line. Remember I’m NOT a professional, just an enthusiastic amateur.
One thing I’ve learnt lately is that you can never have enough positivity in your life.