Ask the Author: Beryl Coverdale
Answered Questions (6)
Beryl Coverdale
I was born just after WW2 and heard many tales of the destruction of cities in the UK and the huge number of casualties and being a lover of crime fiction, it always seemed that during an air-raid would have been a perfect time to dispose of someone. This idea comes into the book later and in the sequel as I eventually decided to introduce my characters at the end of WW1.
Beryl Coverdale
I can't remember when I didn't want to write. I always have ideas for books or short stories in my head. As a child I spent all my pocket-money on pencils and notepads but hid my work carefully from anyone else. When I was 12 I won the Cadburys Chocolate Essay competition at school. I was awarded a certificate and a box of chocolate bars. Sadly, the certificate is long gone but my love of chocolate unfortunately, remains with me!
Beryl Coverdale
I am just finishing the sequel to my first novel "The Lazarus Quartet". The sequel "The Lazarus Secrets" picks up the same characters through the next generation and as the title suggests reveals some of the answers and some of the secrets.
Beryl Coverdale
Study your subject, even small inaccuracies put readers off. When you work is completed - read it aloud, if it flows it's finished, although writers can always find something they could change, eventually we have to let it go. Have confidence in yourself, be brave enough to seek publication. I waited until I was 69 years old to send my work to a publisher - the moral here is you are never too old but don't wait as long as I did!
Beryl Coverdale
Being able to mould your characters into what you want them to be - eventually you know what they look like, even what they sound like. A great buzz to see your book in the bookshops.
Beryl Coverdale
Do some housekeeping on what you have already written. Read through and improve or correct it and you will invariably get an idea for the yet unwritten pages. If it's a new book and you can't get started - just list ideas that you want to include and then just get it into some sort of order. It's always there for you to improve on.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more