Ask the Author: Trudi Jaye
Answered Questions (8)
Trudi Jaye
Sorry Carol, I completely missed your questions. Fighting Dragon is out, and I'm just about to release the fourth book in the series, Cursed Dragon!
Trudi Jaye
Hi there, thanks for the question! Ringmaster is set in the fictitious town of Mountain Springs, in what was supposed to be the North West of the USA. I didn't set it in a real town, because I didn't want to get details wrong, and have people from the town getting annoyed at me...!!!
Trudi Jaye
I think of writing as my job, and you don't sit around and wait for inspiration to strike if you're a doctor or a teacher. You just get on and do it. Writing is the same for me. You need to keep writing, every day. Like a muscle, you have to exercise it. When you're doing it every day, you feel good, strong and healthy, like you can do anything.
Trudi Jaye
I get to live in imaginary worlds, make up crazy storylines like they're real, and then spend my day there. I love it. I even love it once I've finished my book, and it's time to get it out there, and talk to other people about it.
Trudi Jaye
I don't have any advice that's different from what writers will hear anywhere else - first and foremost you have to write. And write lots if you can. And then get a team around you, in the form of a writing group, editors, beta readers, proofreaders, to help you make it the best it's going to be. You're not going to be able to spot all the flaws and errors in your book yourself, so make sure you have people you trust around you to help you.
Trudi Jaye
I'm working on the final edits for the fourth book in the Magic Carnival Series, High Flyer. It should be finished in July, which is pretty exciting. I love this book, it's the story of Missy, who has appeared in most of the other books.
Trudi Jaye
Some days it's hard to sit down and put pen to paper, even if I love the story. Writing is hard work, and you have to be a fairly determined person to actually finish a book. I think the key is to have a story you really love, and to make sure you're interested in what you're writing about. I heard one author talk about how if they're finding it hard to write, then they figure there's something wrong with the story - if they're bored, how will the reader feel? And that's something I've always taken to heart. If I'm finding it hard, then I look for ways to amp up the action, or the suspense, or the conflict, and see if that helps...
Trudi Jaye
I had the idea for the Magic Carnival series late one night when I was watching a music television awards programme, that had a dark circus theme going on. It got me thinking about a circus with some dark undercurrents swirling around. And then I thought, imagine if they had magic, what kind of magic would it be? Granting the wishes of punters seemed cool, but I wanted it to be like that TV series from the 80s, Fantasy Island, where what they wish for isn't always what's best for them... It turns out I'm not quite as mean as the writers for that show, and so far I've always managed to give the person who is granted a wish a happy ending... but you never know, maybe one day it'll change...
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