Author Q&A with Krista Walsh.

I am thrilled to be featuring talented fantasy author Krista Walsh on my blog today.  I have been following Krista at theravensquill.com for a while now and am delighted to finally have the chance to ask her some questions about her work.

 

Q1) What do you enjoy doing when you are not reading and writing?

That depends on the season! During the deep freeze of our Ottawa winters, I can usually be found bundled under layers of blankets with my warm beverage-IV inserted (usually of the tea or hot chocolate variety) either reading, watching old movies, or playing card games on the computer. I also love video games with a good story line – I find they spark all sorts of new ideas.

In the summer (which does come around from time to time) I walk a lot. I love finding quiet paths and brainstorming book ideas.

I’m also a groupie for the local burlesque and geek scenes, so I love spending time with my performer friends and cheering them on, or going to cons when they come up to gawk at the cosplayers and browse the local talent.

Q2) Wow, it’s amazing you actually find to the time to write.  When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?

I believe my first short stories were written when I was six years old? Three one-page ghost/monsters stories that I still claim to be some of the best words I’ve ever written. I remember come up with plays to put on with my friends for our parents (we charged $0.10!). But the short stories kept getting longer and longer and when I was about 12 or 13, they morphed into novels.

 

Q3) What inspired you to write the Meratis trilogy?

A fan fiction contest! The prompt was “An author gets trapped inside his own novel” and so many people enjoyed the dynamic between Jeff, Jasmine, and Jayden that became the basis for an entire trilogy. You can read the flash fiction piece here:

http://theravensquill.com/samples/evensong/

Although Evensong was originally intended to be a stand-alone novel. I even put my foot down when I started it that I would only write the one. But then, as they do, the characters hijacked the story and it turned out they had more to say!

Q4) I can’t wait to read the flash fiction piece.  Thank you for sharing.  Tell us some interesting facts about your protagonist fantasy author Jeff Powell?

He’s a coffee and junk food addict. He believes its part of his writing process, but really it’s just because it’s a bachelor who doesn’t like to cook, and he keeps odd hours.

 

He lives in Montreal, Quebec, but his French is pretty lousy. Although he hasn’t admitted this to me, yet, I suspect he was born somewhere in western Canada and moved to Montreal for the beauty of the city.

 

He likes to pretend he’s closer to his more “action-oriented” characters like Jayden or Corey, but when he enters into his novel, it turns out he’s far closer to his “research-oriented” character, Brady.

Q5) On your website you talk about wanting to explore books as windows into other worlds or narrative as fate in the Meratis trilogy.  What exactly does this concept mean to you?

For me, it’s part of my writing process. I’m not a determined outliner when I start a new project. I like having a good idea of the direction I’m headed, but I prefer to sit back and let the characters take me for the ride. I see it as being the medium to tell their own story. I find this concept helps me stay consistent in my characters, making them relatable and realistic.

Q6) In Eventide (book 2 of the trilogy) Jeff Powell is suffering from writers block.  Have you ever experienced writers block yourself.  If so how did you overcome it?

I usually go through a creative hiatus after I finish editing a book. I think it’s the difficulty switching back from critical, analytical thinking to the creative thinking of drafting. The best solution I’ve found is to write. I try to write a 200-word short story/scene/dialogue every day to keep the habit, but I find the practice of writing without worrying about how good it is helps oil the way for better words. A case of creativity breeding creativity.

Q7) Tell us a little about your two works in progress ‘The Fenwith Trials’ and ‘The Storms of Time.’

Fenwith Trials is the story of four women who are affected by a renewed witch hunt. I wrote the first draft about five years ago, and even after four edits, the word count is stuck around 210,000! As a result, it’s on hold for the time being until I find a different way to structure it.

The Storms of Time is an urban fantasy series about an accidentally immortal sorceress named Katerina. It’s told in a parallel structure between the past and present, and how she’s adapted over the years as the “clean-up crew”, keeping the mundane world unaware/protecting it from supernatural elements. It’s planned to be a 4 or 5-book series with a cast of very fun characters,

I don’t have it listed on my blog, but my current work is progress is a follow-up to the Meratis Trilogy. One of the secondary characters, the blade-wielding, sharp-mouthed assassin Venn Connell is getting her own story in the Cadis Trilogy. I’m nearly half-way through the first draft of book 1, Bloodlore, and having so much fun with it!

Q8)  Sounds exciting!  I am pleased to hear there is a lot more of your wonderful work coming our way.  It can be really hard for an author starting out to make their work visible and very disheartening when their work is not selling.  In your most recent blog post you mention having ‘hit a nice sales milestone.’  What advice would you give to a new author who was trying to get to where you are now?

As much as the saying is “never say never”, I will ignore this once to offer the advice of: Never compare yourself to anyone else. This business, especially when you go the self-publishing route, is all about trial and error. If something isn’t working, do your research and explore new ways that work best for you. There are no “hard and true” rules except two: don’t give up, and keep writing!

Q9) What is your worst form of procrastination while writing?

Social media. It’s horrible! Although I’ve found a way to twist it to my advantage by joining a great writing group on Facebook. We do timed writing sprints throughout the day and motivate each to concentrate for 25 minutes at a time.

Lately I’ve also turned to procrasticleaning and procrastibaking. When the weather it nice, I get away from my computer to go for walks, but at least I usually come home with great ideas. Right now, I’m answering this Q&A ;-)

 

10) I think we are all a little guilty of spending too much time on social media.  Your Facebook group sounds fantastic.  What a wonderful way to keep each other motivated.  Where can people find you and your writing on the internet?

EVERYWHERE!!!

You can take a gander at my blog/site: theravensquill.com

Find me on twitter: @krista_walsh or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kristawalshauthor

I’m even on Pinterest! https://www.pinterest.com/theravensquill/

Finally, you can also sign up for my newsletter to get updates on new releases, cover reveals, and promotions! http://eepurl.com/GIJkz

 

Thank you so much for hosting me!

 

A huge thank you to Krista for taking part in an author Q&A on http://www.swordofair.net!

 

Click the link below to read the author Q&A Krista hosted with me a few weeks ago!

http://swordofair.net/2015/02/02/author-qa-with-rj-madigan/