Steve McHugh's Blog: Steve McHugh - Writer, page 22

Writing Process Blog Tour

 

 

I’m taking part in a blog tour about writing processes. It’s a series of blogs where a writer (that would be me) gives a description of what they’re working on at how their process goes and then they pass the torch to three more writers.

Last week I was invited to take part by awesome writer, and all-round good-guy, Richard E Preston, the Author of the wonderful Romulus Buckle Steampunk novels. You can find the first of which, The City of Founders, here.

So here are the four questions and answers.

 

1. What am I working on

Currently I’m working on a few things. I’m finishing up the edits for a Hellequin novella, Infamous Reign, which should be out very soon. I’m also writing Hellequin Chronicles book 4: Prison of Hope, which is the first time we see a lot of characters from mythology all in the same book.

When the draft of book 4 is finished, I’ll be writing both book 5, which I’m currently plotting out alongside the first book in the Chimera series. After that I may have some time to sleep. Probably not.

 

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?  

Well it’s certainly quite dark in places and the main character, Nate Garrett, isn’t adverse to going to a place that morally most people wouldn’t, if it means getting the job done. He’s a good guy who’s more than willing to do bad things to protect people.

I don’t know of too many other books that have such a varied group of mythology; Greek, Norse, Avalon and others are all real, although none of them are actually god or goddesses.

3. Why do I write what I do?   

Because I love doing it. That’s the basic answer. I wanted to write stories that I would like to read, so I did and will continue to do so until I run out of them. Hopefully that’s no time soon.

4. How does your writing process work?

In terms of how I start writing, I usually just sit down and start. There’s no big process to it, I plant my butt in my chair and get started. Getting onto my chair is sometimes a process of procrastination and trying not to find something shiny to do, but I usually make it there eventually.

The process for coming up with the story is a little different.

Usually, I have a spark, something that ignites creativity in my brain. It can be anything from an idea for a fight scene or a use of magic, up to a full character or scene. Whatever it is, it’ll usually ferment in my brain for a few days, bugging me until I write something down to try and get it out.

Then I mull over the idea for a while, usually as I write something separate. When I’m finished with whatever I’m working on, I start on the new idea. It doesn’t usually take long for the story to flesh out, although the minor details sometimes do. I make notes, try to figure out what needs to be done where and do research as needed.

Once all of that is done, I write the story down on cards, each plot point or scene being a different card. I stick these onto a whiteboard I have in my office and that’s the basis for the story. Things change as I start writing, they always do, but by that point I’m pretty much aware of how the story will go and what’ll happen to which character.

I know most people will say not to go back and change things as you write, but it would annoy me to leave it, so I tend to do corrections and changes as I go. It takes longer to do the first draft, but it usually means not having to do another 2 or 3 straight after to get everything as you want it.

By this point, I’m usually left with a functioning first draft, although certainly not a readable one. I go through the story, making changes I need to and editing bits here and there that I think don’t work or need expanding.

This appears to be the point when the deadline looms and I need to get things finished, so I make sure everything is done and send it off to my editor, who sends it back with lots of red bits. I make corrections that I agree with (a very important point) and then send it back to her. If  there’s anything she still doesn’t like we talk about it and I make any final changes before she sends it off to her boss.

After that comes copy edits, line edits and a bunch of very exciting things, but they’re much less about creativity.

When the book isn’t with me, I work on the next one, going through the opening process to get the story together. That way I’m always working on something and never have the, “what do I do next?” mindset.

 

That’s it for me. I hope you enjoyed the read. And now, I get to tell you about the three fantastic writers that I pass on the preverbal baton to. You should go check them out.

First up is my crit partner and friend, Michelle Muto. 

Michelle has always loved storytelling. When she was a child, her favorite stories were of monsters and things that lurked in the dark. Telling stories often frightened her classmates and got her into a lot of trouble with her teachers. They had no sense of humor.

As an adult, Michelle traded her love of writing for the corporate life where she was an IT professional. Today, she’s doing what she loves best – writing and storytelling.

Michelle grew up in Chicago, but currently lives in NE Georgia with her husband and their two dogs. She loves scary books, funny movies, sports cars, chocolate, dogs, and changes of season.

 

Second is fellow 47North writer, the incredibly talented Charlie Holmberg.

Fantasy author, freelance editor, and Trekkie. Someday I will own a dog. My YA-crossover series, beginning with THE PAPER MAGICIAN, is coming soon from 47North.

 

Finally we have the amazing writer, Natalie Westgate.

Natalie Westgate was born and raised in England. Her love of writing is matched only by her love of shoes.

At age 6, Natalie wrote her first “book”: a children’s story titled The Dog That Went Meow. She got bitten by the literary bug and has been writing stories and poems ever since.

She has an enjoyment and intrigue of all things unusual – as a child, when others would run away from haunted houses, Natalie would ask her Mom if they could go and stay in one. Luckily, her Mom was just as keen and Natalie’s love of the paranormal grew.

Currently, Natalie is writing book one of an Urban Fantasy series. With the hope to get it polished and ready to send out to agents by the end of 2013. Watch this space!

She enjoys reading dark and urban fantasy, supernatural romance, horror, sci-fi and paranormal young adult genres. As well as getting immersed in the worlds of fictional supernatural TV series and movies – to Natalie, good writing isn’t limited to books.

Natalie is married to Brian, the love of her life who, being American, just loves to point out her English spelling “mistakes”. They have two cats – Spike (of the Buffy variety) and Indiana (after the famous Jones) – and a goofball dog.

Hellequin Chronicles Competition

If you’ve read the title of the post and come here expecting to learn how to win something, then you’re in the right place. And it’s something that I think is pretty cool.

 

 

 

So first how to win. What you need to do is follow this link to my author page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hellequinchronicles. Once there, like my page and then in the post about the competition, tell me why you’d like to win. That simple. I’ll pick the winner at random in 10 days.

 

And what can you win? Well, I have signed copies of the MP3 audio CD for both Crimes Against Magic and Born of Hatred to give away to one lucky person.

 

So there you have it. Go like my author page, tell me why you’d like to win and maybe you will.

 

Good luck.

Infamous Reign Opening

Because I’m feeling generous. Here’s the opening to Infamous Reign.

Chapter 1

September 1483, Tower of London.

It’s surprisingly easy to gain access to a king when many of his most trusted servants and advisers also work for you.

The king’s guard all moved aside, most ensuring they didn’t make eye contact. Those who knew who I was also had a pretty good idea of why I was there, and so avoided me for that reason. Those who didn’t know me must have sensed my dark mood and decided that pissing me off further than I already seemed to be wouldn’t have enhanced their chances for a quiet life.

Thus unencumbered, I made my way through the courtyard of the royal palace toward the Grand Hall, where the king was holding court. I reached the doors and opened them, stepping through into a room that lived up to its name.

The hall was both massive and opulent, with the king’s banners showing the House of York’s white rose, alongside the usual imagery of inaccurate looking griffins and fleur-de-lis draped next to stunning stained glass windows, some of which depicted the king’s personal badge, a white boar.

Several dozen men and women, of all ages and ranks, stood before King Richard III of England; as he sat on his throne. Each subject was given the opportunity, in turn, to ask, or beg the king, for whatever favor he or she wished. Some wishes granted, some were not, it was wholly dependent on the king’s mood of the day and how much he either liked or needed the petitioner.  The king’s judgment was final, too. Sometimes you got a good king, a just king, a king who would help his people. And sometimes you got a blood-thirsty savage. Either way, so long as Merlin and Avalon were happy, we didn’t intervene in human politics. Unfortunately, on this day, Merlin was far from happy. Which led to the reason why I was here.

I resisted the temptation to make a point by removing anyone but the king from the room. He was finishing up a proclamation that permitted one of his subjects was to marry someone else, and I allowed the moment to continue. It wasn’t them I was angry with.

When the king finished, he noticed me for the first time, and all color drained from his face. If you’re the ruler of a country and I’m standing before you, it’s usually not because you’re doing a good job. The first time it happens is just after a coronation. I, or someone just like me, arrives and tells you exactly where you stand in the world and explain that you either behave, which means doing the things we ask, or you’ll receive another, less pleasant, visit.

The king before me knew exactly why I was there. Two princes, Edward and Richard, had vanished after being placed in his custody. He was either personally involved in something very bad, or he knew who was. It had been left for me to either fix it or to ensure that it was King Richard III’s final error.

King Richard signaled to one of his aides who then told everyone that court was over and would reconvene on the morrow. I stood still as the confused masses were ushered from of the hall, until only the king and I were left.

“I know why you’re here,” he said.

“That should make this go a lot quicker then,” I snapped and walked toward him. “Your majesty.” I didn’t bow or even nod in his direction. That wasn’t a judgment against the man; there wasn’t a human king or queen alive that I would have done it for. None of them were my king.

“Hellequin, you have to understand.” Fear broke through his voice.

———-

Okay, I’ll leave it there. If there’s any spelling or grammar errors, note it’s because it isn’t finished yet. Should be a few weeks. It’ll be priced $1.99 too.

In other news, I’m starting to arrange a newsletter, so if you’re interested, I’ll be holding a competition for those who sign up when it’s all working. Keep an eye out in the coming days and weeks.

Infamous Reign

It’s now time to reveal the blurb for Infamous Reign: A Hellequin Novella.

 

In late 15th century England, two young princes are given over by Merlin to the protection of their uncle, King Richard III. They soon vanish from sight, igniting tales of their demise at Richard’s hand and breeding unrest throughout the land.

Nathanial Garrett, also known as Hellequin, is sent to London to decipher fact from rumor and uncovers a plot to replace the king. But his investigation quickly becomes personal when he learns that an old nemesis is involved. He soon finds himself racing against time to rescue the boys before their fate, and the fate of all England, is sealed in blood.

Infamous Reign is a novella in the popular Hellequin Chronicles series, mixing gritty and action-packed historical fantasy with ancient mythology.

 

An actual release date will be revealed toward the end of the month.

 

 

Infamous Reign – A Hellequin Novella.

Today it’s time to finally show you the cover for the Hellequin Novella – Infamous Reign.

I’ll spill the beans on what it’s about next week, but for now, bask in the glory of the cover.

 

 

Nice, isn’t it? As for a release date. Within the month. I know some of you have waited a long time for book 3 (and still have a few months to wait), but hopefully this novella will help whet your appetite until the main event.

A Conversation with Kate Maruyama

I’d like to introduce you all to fellow 47North writer Kate Maruyama, author of the wonderfully creepy Harrowgate.

 

SM: So, Kate why don’t you tell everyone about your book?

KM : Michael’s wife Sarah and baby, Tim are dead but still living with him in his apartment in New York. A creepy doula-type woman named Greta has wormed her way into their lives and seems to hold the key to how they can stay together, what the rules are to this new existence is, etc… But over the course of the book the couple realize she may not have their best interests at heart.

Any time Michael leaves the apartment–even for twenty minutes, weeks, months pass for Sarah and Tim–Tim grows up during this time also. Michael also sees that Sarah is visibly diminishing and getting more and more mentally lost while their boy grows stronger and healthier. A part of Michael knows Sarah and the boy don’t belong here, but he goes along with anything that he thinks will help keep his family with him. Even after he knows Greta is up to no good, he endures her for fear of losing his family. The question here, is how far would you go to keep your family together? How much would you put up with or would you let evil into your life just to spend a little more time with them? Does the sheer fear of losing someone allow you to push all consequences aside?

Does your guy let evil in so that he may have more power?

 

SM: In my first book, Crimes Against Magic, Nate doesn’t really know who he is. He’s sort of enjoying the fact that he’s clearly not human. Sleeping with beautiful women and stealing things for fun. There’s a part in the book where Nate’s previous ability for violence starts coming to the surface, but the thing that freaks him out is that he’s not actually freaked out at all. It’s not really until the people who removed his memories track him down that all hell breaks loose for him and he has to decide whether he’s going to commit to getting his old life back, but at the expense of everything he’s currently worked for.

Throughout the book there’s flashbacks to 15th century France, which links in with the modern day story, showing what Nate used to be and the things he used to do. There’s some mythology there from different places.

Born of Hatred has Nate trying to piece his life back together and getting involved in something that he’s actually afraid of facing. Something he knows he can’t beat but goes through with it anyway. But doing so means he exposes a pretty dark secret to a lot of people, which is going to have some major repercussions later in the series. 

Nate doesn’t really worry about doing bad things, so long as it’s for a good cause. His moral compass is somewhat different to everyone else. He’s okay with killing and hurting those who hurt the people he cares about. Nate’s let evil into himself a lot over the 1600 years he’s been alive. He’s done questionable things or allowed bad things to happen and not stopped it, simply because his old employer Merlin demanded it. Since he left Merlin’s employ in 1890, he’s tried to not stand by and let things happen. It’s going to get him into a lot of trouble.

 

KM: Do you have fun playing around in Nate’s head? Exploring his lack of conscience? Do you ever cringe at what he does but forge forward because you know what suits his character best or is it just a grand romp to step outside yourself on the page?

 

SM: Nate’s pretty easy to get into his head, mostly as he’s lived in mine for so long. There’s a torture scene in book 2, which did make me wince a little, but it fits that it’s the sort of thing he’d do under the circumstances he was in. It’s the same with the villains. I do love writing really evil bad guys, and a few of them have done things I’ve found awful to think about, but then I know where it goes and what’s going to happen so I don’t have to wonder if they’ll get their comeuppance. If I write the good guy with difference in morals, I have t he make the bad guys even worse.

So, do you find it fun to write the evil characters, or do you prefer to write the good guys?

 

KM:  A lot of the bad guy is written through the eyes of the good guy in mine, so they feel entwined. I had as much fun writing Michael’s revulsion for Greta as I had writing Greta herself. The most challenging part of writing Greta was coming up with her motivation, making her more than a two-dimensional menace. She took several drafts to get right, where as my protagonist was really there all along. But once I figured out what made her tick, I could really dig into her scenes and turn them into power struggles of a sort. Once you know everything your bad guy knows, you know their limitations, needs and strategies.

You said, “A few of them {your bad guys} have done things too awful to think about…” There was one scene with Greta came up in a later draft of the book, so when I saw it for the first time in a few years, it startled me–I hadn’t remembered writing it and it took me aback.

Do your bad guys ever surprise you in their actions, or where they go or what they do?

 

SM: In the first book they didn’t. I knew the main villain quite well by the time I got to write it, so I was pretty sure who he was. But in the second book, I had a problem of needing 2 characters to be in a certain place for the finale and for the life of me I couldn’t think of a good reason. And then one of the bad guys did something that I thought was pretty awful, but worked in terms of story. It also took him to a whole new level of evil, so I think people who read it will be even more willing Nate on to dish out some revenge.

I’ve had a few occasions like that, where a character did or said something that I hadn’t thought of before I got to that scene. But then that’s why I don’t tend to plot out everything in great detail.  I know the beginning and end and roughly what happens for each chapter, but not all the details.

Do you plot out in detail or are you a write it and see what happens kind of person? 

KM: I’m with you. I kind of have to get in there with my characters and help them feel their way around their situation, see where it leads. I knew the ending of Harrowgate, but that was it, and huge sections of it surprised me. I had a six page portion planned out that turned into thirty and wound up being a climax of sorts–I wouldn’t have found it if I plotted.  Any time I try to push my characters toward a logical step things sort of stop and fall to pieces. So I keep at the draft until I’ve answered all of the questions. Then I concentrate on structure and cut mercilessly. A lot of first draft stuff I write doesn’t really belong in the story–it was more my writing toward something. Once I find the something, the writing toward can be cut away. I feel like I’m a better revisionist than composer. Revision is where the structure comes together and characters become more layered.

Do you do a lot of drafts or do you rewrite over and over as you go along?

 

SM: For my first book I didn’t plot anything and ended up doing about 9 or 10 drafts. It took forever. Book 2 and 3 i decided to plot slightly tighter before I started so I still had room for the story to flow and change as needed, but there was more structure. I only took 3 or 4 drafts with book 2 and I think it was 3 with book 3. I think that’s more down to me being more comfortable with the way in which I plot the book out before starting. 

I do however, change things as I go. I know I shouldn’t, I should wait until I’m done, but it would annoy me if I left it, so I’ll change the story now as needed. Usually only little things, if it’s a massive shift in story, then I’ll probably re-do most of the book. It’s why I make sure to get all my ideas down before I start now. It’s also why I have a dozen notebooks at home and make sure to keep them with me just in case inspiration strikes, or some new shiny needs attention.

How do you cope with that new shiny idea for a story when you’re in the middle of writing your current work? I have to take a break to make all the notes I need to or the idea won’t shut up. 

 

KM: I often work on two things at once. When I was a screenwriter, I’d finish a script, my agent/manager would go out with it, and it would all be over within a week. People passed, the story was dead. The first couple of times this happened it killed me. It would take about a month of recovery before I would start casting around for new ideas. So I started a habit that when I was in revisions for a script I would start up the next one so I’d always have something to work on. So now I know not to let lightning pass. Sometimes it’s just an idea, sometimes the story starts speaking to me in small ways and I pursue it. I often dive into short story when I’m working on a novel and get stuck. It keeps the muscles going while questions solve themselves in the back of my head.

Did you ever write anything that wouldn’t work? That you put down for good?

 

SM: I’ve had ideas that while they were great for a while, ended up falling by the wayside for one reason or another. Either it didn’t gel or I couldn’t get it to make sense. I keep the notes for the idea though, just in case it comes up in another story and will work better. 

Do you have any notion to write in different genres or are you content to stay in horror?

 

KM: I can only write the book that comes to me and the next was a literary family story, who knew? I know I’ll write horror again, it’s such a lovely space to play in, but I have to wait for the right story to come to me.

 

SM: So what’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given as a writer?

 

KM: The finest advice I got from a writer was from my mentor Rob Roberge, who said, “ When a writer is committed and dedicated, the novel(s) sort of presents itself to us if we listen well enough.”

This is so encouraging at the halfway point for me, where it all seems like crap and I’m trying to push the story forward. The pushing makes things shut down. I have this quote on my desktop, which reminds me to sit back more quietly and listen–to trust this careful moving forward and listening part of the project and wait for things to emerge. Which sounds really lovely and easy, but is usually the part where I get crabby, go on a lot of walks, read a lot of pages over, edit a lot and throw out some new scenes from an entirely different part of the story to ask questions. It’s the part I wish I could turn into a movie montage of writing with a pile of pages growing next to me.

But it’s damn fine advice.

Do you have any writer advice that stuck with you?

 

SM: That’s some excellent advice. 

I’ve been trying to think of what advice I’d say and I’ve been told so much over the last few years that it’s hard to say which one I think is the most important. 

So after much deliberation I’m going to go with: 

Enjoy yourself. If you’re not interested in what you’re writing, no one else will be, I assure you. So, write what you enjoy, write what you’d like to read, because if you try to conform to someone else’s idea of what makes a successful book, you’ll just be miserable and constantly put off writing. If you’re not enjoying writing the story, then what’s the point?

 

And that’s it for another post, thanks to the fantastic Kate for taking the time to read through my ramblings to get to the point I was trying to make.

If you want to get a copy of Harrowgate for yourself, click the links below.

 

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

And head on over to Annotation Nation to read the thoughts of her and other writers, including yours truly, about the books that have had the most impact on them.

What’s in a Name?

Hello one and all.

A few weeks ago, I ran a competition where a lucky winner was going to get to name a character in Hellequin Chronicles book 4, Prison of Hope.

The winners were

Scott Hollander

Zoe Mountain

Kyle Felis Key

Each of them sent me a male and female name to use and I was going to pick the one I liked the best and go with it. Well, each of them managed to give me a name I really liked. So, instead of just one of them getting a name in the book, all 3 of them will have a character named in book 4.

So, from Scott Hollander his name choice going into the book will be – Sarah Hamilton

Zoe Mountain – Magali Martin

Kyle Felis Key – Robert Ellis

Congrats to them all. Now, I won’t say what any of these people are going to be when in they’re in the book, but all of them will have at least one sentence of dialog. And all 3 winners will go into the acknowledgements of my book. So, congrats to them all.

I’m off to go kill some characters… I mean write some… yes, write.

Kate Danley – Queen Mab

Today I’m very pleased to show all of you an exciting new book by the wonderful Kate Danley.  Queen Mab.

Two demigods both alike, but one of day and one of night, in fair Verona do meddle with the Houses of Capulet and Montague…

When Faunus, the god of daydreams, breaks the heart of Queen Mab, revenge can be the only answer.  Using the most powerful families in Verona, they wage their war against one another,

and place their final bets upon the heads of two teenagers, one named Romeo and the other named Juliet.

But when Queen Mab meets a gentleman named Mercutio, the world changes.  She falls in love and will do anything, even if it means destroying the world, to save him.  Will it be enough to stop the tragedy?  Or only spur it forward to its terrible end?

 

Weaving Shakespeare’s original text into a new fantasy, fans of The Woodcutter will delight in this loving retelling by award-winning author Kate Danley.  Experience the romance and passion of Romeo & Juliet from a different point of view - through the eyes of the bringer of dreams… Queen Mab.

 

Kate Danley’s debut novel, The Woodcutter (published by 47North), was honored with the Garcia Award for the Best Fiction Book of the Year, the 1st Place Fantasy Book in the Reader Views Literary Awards, and the winner of the Sci-Fi/Fantasy category in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Other titles include Queen Mab, the Maggie MacKay: Magical Tracker series and the O’Hare House Mystery series.

Her plays have been produced in New York, Los Angeles, and DC Metro area. Her screenplay Fairy Blood won 1st Place in the Breckenridge Festival of Film Screenwriting Competition in the Action/Adventure Category. Her projects The Playhouse, Dog Days, Sock Zombie, SuperPout, and Sports Scents can be seen in festivals and on the internet. She trained in on-camera puppetry with Mr. Snuffleupagus and recently played the head of a 20-foot dinosaur on an NBC pilot.

She lost on Hollywood Squares.

 

You can find Queen Mab on Amazon.

And here’s Kate’s author page.

A conversation with Anne Charnock

To end this week, I’ve got something a bit special. Please welcome author Anne Charnock, who also self-published her work, A Calculated Life, and was picked up by 47North.  We had a chat about writing, publishing and who we’d like to see play our lead characters in TV/movies. 

 

Anne: You’re currently working on two books, Steve, and I wondered how you organize your writing schedule – do you flit from one book to the other? And how do you avoid getting confused?

 

Steve: I write one and do the plot stuff for the other. Sometimes I don’t feel like writing so I work on the book’s plot. So, I’m writing my novella and plotting out book 4. When the novella is done, I’ll write book 4 and plot out either book 5 or my new shiny idea.

I used to use a notebook for each book, but I’ve started (as of yesterday) using index cards and a white board, so we’ll see how that goes for making things easier.

So, how do you juggle ideas for new books while writing?

 

Anne: I’m juggling lots of ideas for short stories at the moment. I’m writing two – jumping between them on roughly alternate days. They’re quite short so it’s not really a problem. But one thing I find helpful is to write each story in a different font – it instantly shifts my mindset. Last night, when I was dropping off to sleep, I imagined a conversation that would slot into one my short stories so I typed that up before breakfast today and I’ll try to polish the whole story this evening. A second novel is starting to take shape but I’m not forcing it just yet. I’m hoping the short stories will help to crystallize things. My first novel started out as a short story.

I’ve had to do quite a bit of research for these stories, which I’ve loved doing. How about you? What kind of research do you need for your novels?

 

Steve: A different font? That’s a great idea, I should try that.

I love research, it’s one of the most fun parts of being a writer. I’ve had to research a lot of mythology and monsters/characters that are contained within them. Then there’s weaponry, cars, historical details for cities and countries, clothes and far too many things to remember. I once had to phone the fire department in the UK and ask how to start a fire without making it look like it’s been deliberate. Once I explained to the very nice man that I wasn’t a crazy person, he was quite happy to explain. I did something similar with BMW and how to steal a Z4. Sometimes I think I’m trying to make myself into a master criminal.

So, what’s your favourite piece of research that you’ve done so far? Do you spend a lot of time researching before you get to the book, or do you do it as you go along?

 

Anne: I can’t tell you my best bit of research, which involved a trip to San Diego, because it would act as a spoiler for the novel!

 

Steve: Yeah, don’t spoil anything.

 

Anne: I do love the research element. I launched into writing A Calculated Life on the back of several conversations with neuroscientists. I allowed other research to feed into the story along the way and I’m now an expert (ahem) on stick insects, bee-keeping, growing citrus, even Medieval sculpture. Not as exciting as your research, Steve. But when a bit of research steers my story in a new direction or adds depth, that’s when I jump up and down, alone in my little study.  So sad.

 

Steve: My research wasn’t so much exciting as it was lucky no one decided to send a few coppers round to have a chat.

 

Anne: Well, at least you’d get some writing done in your quiet police cell.

One thing we have in common, Steve, is that we both self-published our work before we signed contracts with 47North. It was an easy decision for me but I wondered if it was more difficult for you. What difference does it make to you now that you have a publisher?

 

Steve: Actually it wasn’t a difficult decision at all. Speaking to the people who worked at 47North and seeing their enthusiasm for my work, sort of decided for me. The fact that they were willing to back my writing and help promote it, allowing me more time to actually write, was a pretty big factor too. That’s the big difference between being an Indie or self-published writer and not – you have that backing of something big behind you. There are people who bat for you, who want you to do well. Now, yes, if you do well, they do well, but their desire to see you succeed is a great thing. That said, I can still self-publish or publish other work with someone else, so not much has changed in that respect.

I currently write Urban Fantasy, but I have plans for a steampunk series and I’d like to do some SF and historical stuff. Do you have any plans to change your genre? Do you have a hankering to sink your teeth into something new and shiny?

 

Anne: Interesting question! How much should I reveal? I’m certainly going to use the short stories to stick my elbows out. My novel is a near-future dystopia set in the corporate world in England. So I’m now playing around with far-future and other-world scenarios. But I’m also looking at how to site historical stories alongside these futurist excursions, and I have a few ideas about that.

In addition… I’m messing about with the form of my stories. Some are very short. I’ve just this morning completed the first draft of a short story that’s written solely as dialogue: a conversation between two sisters walking along a beach. I’m writing several of these ‘conversations’ set in different places, different eras. I like that idea of continuity. In fact, my outline for these short stories is often very simple – a single sentence about the scenario/setting plus a single sentence of dialogue.

Do you have a particular way of bringing an idea into the open, of getting started?

 

Steve: I couldn’t do that with the short stories and conversations, my brain would just force me to keep going.

I don’t really have one set way. What tends to happen is something will come to me and then my brain will be like a dog with a bone. For example, I had an idea last week for a fantasy/SF/steampunk story. The entity of my idea was humanoid-animals. Within a few days I’d fleshed out the world, a few characters and had a rough idea of the beginning of the story. Once I start, I don’t seem to be able to stop until I’ve done something with it. Which is great when I’m working on what I’m meant to be working on, but when that new shiny idea pops up, it can put a spanner in the works as it demands to be thought about.

It’s probably why when I get round to writing the stories, I have a pretty good idea of characters/world and story. I know how it’ll end and will have a good idea of what I want to happen during the book, although it’s not set in stone.

Do you know what happens in your books before you start writing? Or are you a ‘as you go’ kind of writer?

 

Anne: Like you, nothing is set in stone. I’m definitely an ‘as you go’ writer. I knew my main character pretty well before I started my novel and I wrote, for my own background purposes, a description of what was going on in the world. Straight away I had an opening scene, and I set off. That opening scene is no longer at the beginning! I knew fairly early how I wanted to end the story but I didn’t map the book, chapter by chapter. I started another short story today – thought I knew where I was heading, and after two paragraphs I found myself veering off. I reckon each sentence is dictated by the previous one.

On another subject… while I was jogging at the weekend I envisaged a complete opening sequence for a movie, based on my novel. I was so excited I actually ran faster than humanly possible. So, to bring this conversation to a close… have you considered who might play the lead role in the movie of your book? Have you seen a movie and thought “That’s the perfect actor?”

 

Steve: Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever pictured one person as Nate. It changes quite often. Anthony Starr from Banshee is quite Nate-esque, as is Charlie Hunnam from Sons of Anarchy. Also, he’s British, which helps. I think both of those men have done excellent fight scenes and are quite capable of acting as a badass, but can also do the witty/more down-to-earth side of Nate too.

Who would you pick for yours then?

 

Anne: I can see it – Starr and Hunnam fighting for the role of Nate!

As for my main character Jayna… Hmm, I know the actor needs to portray Jayna’s slow transition from being ‘unknowing’, almost innocent, to a more animated character, without going totally overboard (so maybe we should chose our directors, too). From past films, I liked Audrey Tautou in Amelie (but she’s French) and the cool look of Uma Thurman in Gattaca. But among today’s rising stars, I think Carey Mulligan, if available, could make a good stab at the role (see An Education). And I’m intrigued by a Canadian actor coming to BBC3 soon – Tatiana Maslany in the SF series Orphan Black (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01ftyjj). She plays multiple roles in each episode so she’d cope with anything.

Well, that’s an upbeat note to end on!

 

 

Anne Charnock’s writing career began in journalism and her articles appeared in The Guardian and New Scientist. Anne reviews fiction for the online magazine Strange Horizons and contributes book recommendations to The Huffington Post. She splits her time between London and Chester and, whenever possible, she and her husband Garry take off in their little campervan (unless one of their two sons has borrowed it), travelling as far as the Anti-Atlas Mountains in southern Morocco.

A Calculated Life http://www.amazon.com/A-Calculated-Life-ebook/dp/B00DWFCA30

Website http://www.annecharnock.com

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100th Post – Blog Stop Post 2 and Competition Results

Yep you read the title right, I’ve now done 100 posts since I started this blog 18 months ago. Now, I know why most of you are here, to find out who got to win the competition, but we’ll get to that in a minute.

First, I want to give you all the details of the many blogs I’ve been lucky enough to post on in the last week. There’s quite a bit, but hopefully some of them will be of use to someone out there.

 

First up is Kelsey’s Book Corner, who not only has a guest post about Beta readers, but also a competition where you can win a signed copy of both books.

 

I have a guest post on John Jackson Miller’s blog, titled Han Shot First. It’s about Star Wars and my love of the less moral characters.

 

Bea’s Book Nook has a post from me about never giving up on that dream to be published, or indeed to be successful at it.

 

I’m on Natalie Westgate‘s blog talking about how I always wanted to be an author. There’s also a chance to win a signed copy of the book there too.

 

In The Pages of a Good Book, has a guest post about my love of research.

 

A guest post on K.L Schwengel‘s blog is all about going from Indie writer to Traditional writer.

 

Angela Addams has me on her blog talking about whether you should start your writing career trying to go for a traditional contract or not.

 

R. Mac Wheeler has a spotlight on both Hellequin Books.

 

 

And now for the competition results.

 

The three winners, all of which will get a signed copy of either book, and the chance to name a character in book 4, Prison of Hope, are:

 

Kyle Felis Key

Zoe Mountain

Scott Hollander

 

Each of those 3 have 10 days to let me know what their 2 names will be, and I will pick the one I like the best. I’ll announce the winner in a fortnight. As I said before: No real people, no funny names and I reserve the right to tell all 3 of them to pick again if I don’t like any. I’m mean like that.

 

I’m excited to see what you guys choose.