Ask the Author: Loretta Livingstone
Answered Questions (14)
Loretta Livingstone
At the moment, purely because I am deeply involved in their lives, my favourite fictional couple are Giles and Isabella de Soutenay from my new book, A Promise to Keep, which will be available in late spring and is book two in the Out of Time series.
Isabella is Giles first wife, however, she was married at 14 to a man she hated, widowed a couple of years later and married to Sir Giles against her will. In this book, she has learned to love him but is still tentative. My next book will be devoted entirely to their story - they are only part of the main cast in this book.
Isabella is Giles first wife, however, she was married at 14 to a man she hated, widowed a couple of years later and married to Sir Giles against her will. In this book, she has learned to love him but is still tentative. My next book will be devoted entirely to their story - they are only part of the main cast in this book.
Loretta Livingstone
I've messaged you again with my email address. You'll probably find it easier to communicate with me that way.
Cheers.
Cheers.
Loretta Livingstone
I'm sorry, Emmanuel, I'm afraid I can't commit to this at the moment.
Loretta Livingstone
Hello, Emmanuel,
Yes, I do read Christian non-fiction, but very selectively.
Yes, I do read Christian non-fiction, but very selectively.
Loretta Livingstone
Hi Margaret,
Oooh, definitely watching my characters start to come to life and take me to places which I hadn't planned. When I start to create their world, I never know quite what to expect of them, so it's great to watch them grow.
I also love the medieval aspect of the series I'm working on lately; the way the language changes ever so subtly from present day English to something which starts to evoke a different time.
Thank you for asking. :)
Loretta
Oooh, definitely watching my characters start to come to life and take me to places which I hadn't planned. When I start to create their world, I never know quite what to expect of them, so it's great to watch them grow.
I also love the medieval aspect of the series I'm working on lately; the way the language changes ever so subtly from present day English to something which starts to evoke a different time.
Thank you for asking. :)
Loretta
Loretta Livingstone
Hi Julia,
I actually worry a lot about inspiration. As I near the end of one book, I start to fret anout whether I'll ever have a good idea for the next one. I usually fret about it, then pray about it, and suddenly, often while I am still editing the current book, I find the story for the next one has started to weave itself into my brain.
Once I get an idea for a story, I still tend not to know where I'm going. I stew on it, and often come up with one or two scenes which would be good, and from there, it just seems to pull itself together.
I don't actually have a great imagination. When I was a child, we had to write a daily diary entry at school. My mum was always stunned at what my younger sister said the family had been up to - Mum never knew we went to so many circuses and zoos, lol. I just wrote things like, "I got up. I had my breakfast. I went to school." Bearing that in mind, and bearing in mind that I do pray quite a bit about what I write, maybe I get a little help from my Friend. :)
I actually worry a lot about inspiration. As I near the end of one book, I start to fret anout whether I'll ever have a good idea for the next one. I usually fret about it, then pray about it, and suddenly, often while I am still editing the current book, I find the story for the next one has started to weave itself into my brain.
Once I get an idea for a story, I still tend not to know where I'm going. I stew on it, and often come up with one or two scenes which would be good, and from there, it just seems to pull itself together.
I don't actually have a great imagination. When I was a child, we had to write a daily diary entry at school. My mum was always stunned at what my younger sister said the family had been up to - Mum never knew we went to so many circuses and zoos, lol. I just wrote things like, "I got up. I had my breakfast. I went to school." Bearing that in mind, and bearing in mind that I do pray quite a bit about what I write, maybe I get a little help from my Friend. :)
Loretta Livingstone
Hi Louisa. Thank you so much for your question. At the moment, I have no plans to expand any of the short stories in'Beautiful', however, I constantly end up doing things I had never planned to do - for example, I never intended to write fiction, and then I never intended to write a full length novel, much less a historical novel, yet guess what my next project is? Lol - so, it is almost impossible for me to predict what I will do next. I am always surprising myself. :)
Loretta Livingstone
Hmm. A difficult one to answer. Each character is different. And each character has so many facets. I guess their humanity.
Loretta Livingstone
Hi Chloe,
Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. I only just saw your question. I think the formatting, for me, has been the most difficult. Suprisingly, changing my genre from poetry to fiction came more easily than I expected. But there have been a lot of challenges. And I feel sure there will be more yet.
Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. I only just saw your question. I think the formatting, for me, has been the most difficult. Suprisingly, changing my genre from poetry to fiction came more easily than I expected. But there have been a lot of challenges. And I feel sure there will be more yet.
Loretta Livingstone
Hi Sandra. Thank you for asking. I start with an idea, and I usually know how I want it to begin and end. I may make notes for what I want in each chapter. Sometimes though, I just get totally inspired and catch as much as I can of what I want, before I stop to decide on an outline. Wiith the medieval story I am working on at the moment, the entire story caught me by surprise and I wrote the first chapter before I considered what was going to happen further into the book. Then I let it lie fallow for a while and worked on something else. When I came back to it, I had a much clearer idea of the direction I wanted to take it in. I may write an ending to it before I have got too far into the story, to give me an idea of where I am headed.
Up until now, my stories have been quite short, so only needed a sketchy outline, almost just in my head. That will change as my stories become longer, and I do find myself making more notes now before I start getting too carried away.
Up until now, my stories have been quite short, so only needed a sketchy outline, almost just in my head. That will change as my stories become longer, and I do find myself making more notes now before I start getting too carried away.
Loretta Livingstone
A tricky one, this. I would have said fiction - but then I wrote a novelette. Following that, I resolved never to write historical fiction - guess what I am writing now? And so, I am rather afraid to give you an answer - who knows what I will end up writing? But possibly, for me, crime fiction or any fiction which requires scientific knowledge. Bt that is only as it applies to me. The genre one person finds easy, another would eschew as far too difficult.
Loretta Livingstone
To have my books bought, read, and enjoyed.
Loretta Livingstone
It depends on what the writer is writing. For me, it is more about the speed, sometimes. When I am writing fiction, the ideas flood in so fast that my pen struggles to keep up, sometimes. I intend to spend half an hpur, and look up to find I've been preoccupied for over two hours and dinner will be late. With poetry, it can take longer. The initial ideas flood in and I dash to find a pen, but then they slow a little. Overall, though, the distance is quite short.
Loretta Livingstone
I'm working on two things at the moment. A book of short stories, which are now at the stage of being beta read, and a story which I never expected to write. It is set partly in the present day and partly in a 12th century Abbey. It's going surprisingly well at the moment, and I am really enjoying writing it. I've also had very good feedback from the few people whom I have allowed to see excerpts.
I am aware that there needs to be a reasonable level of historical accuracy for this type of story, which is one of the reasons I never expected to find myself writing anything like it. However, one day it all started tumbling out of my brain, and I found I had no choice but to tumble along after it. Now I need to be sure that my knowledge of the era is up to scratch. Research, here I come.
I am aware that there needs to be a reasonable level of historical accuracy for this type of story, which is one of the reasons I never expected to find myself writing anything like it. However, one day it all started tumbling out of my brain, and I found I had no choice but to tumble along after it. Now I need to be sure that my knowledge of the era is up to scratch. Research, here I come.
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