Kamilla Reid Interview

Kamilla Reid is the author of an exciting new fantasy book, The Questory of Root Karbunkus (Reviewed), which although aimed at younger readers, will be enjoyed by adults too. The first book in the series is entitled ‘Item I: Miist’, and introduces us to the new and wonderful world of Dre’Amm.

Q. Let’s start with the most important part.. can you tell us a little more about your book?

A. Well, in a one-liner it’s sort of like the ultimate magical scavenger hunt. But here’s a bit more filler:

Young Root Karbunkulus gets an invitation to participate in ‘the coolest scavenger hunt of all time!’  Finally, her chance! She can escape the Aunts and prove once and for all there’s no stinkin’ “L” on her forehead! So what if she’s up against hundreds of other kids. It can’t be worse than murder ball. The rules say teams of three. Okay, okay her appointed team mates, Lian and Dwyn are screws-in-the-temples annoying…but livable…and really no worse than Goatface Kor or Hilly Punyun who, forget the panties, has a tiara for each day of the week. More rules: Can’t use magic on competitors. Doh! Oh well, at this point her magic is of the non-existent variety anyhow so…next! The first item up for grabs is the Miist of Kalliope, apparently some dead magician’s elixir. No prob. But wait. Out of hundreds of teams, there are only six of these Miists to be found? Leaving only six teams left to go after the next item? Then five, four, three, two…woah…this could get ugly….hmmm…compete and win…or go back to exfoliating those hard, crusted entities called Auntie Octavia’s feet?

Root Karbunkulus accepts the invitation. It will be a race of many, many hated things.  But it will also be a contest of courage, friendship and the rising of soul. Within it Root will learn the terrifying truth behind the mysterious items. She will also discover, to her horror that she is not a player in an innocent kid’s race but a pawn in a vicious adult game.

Q. Is writing something you’ve always enjoyed, or something you’ve started recently?

A. I have always loved to write and, in fact had a really cheesy short story published in a magazine when I was eight years old. But I took my writing into theatre for many years. And as much as I loved this medium, after awhile I just couldn’t treadmill out another budget conscious 6-person musical. I was also in a major life transition at the time. So everything was pointing me toward the new, exciting world of book writing. I’m so glad I did!

Q. Where did your ideas come from, for Dre’Amm, it’s various characters, and the Quest?

A. Oh, from all over. Sometimes I get ideas from part of a conversation or a picture or a song. I get many, many ideas from observing nature. And sometimes it can come from a TV show, like the entire premise of “The Questory”. It was when I caught a snippet of  “The Great Amazing Race” that I got the big “Aha! That’s it!” idea for the whole book.

Q. Obviously this is the first Quest, and there are more to come. Are you tackling one at a time, or have you already planned out the major arcs?

A. I absolutely have to work out the plot, all the plots ahead of time. So, before I even started book one I had to work out every major plot point and every main character’s arc for all six books first. Sometimes I have no idea what the event specifically will be, only that something has to occur that will plunge so-and-so into emotional turmoil or great joy or even death…that sort of thing.

Q. When can we expect to join in the second Quest?

A. I’m aiming for the fall …fingers crossed. Once I finish my book tour I’m going to really limit outside interactions and focus solidly on book 2. I will definitely keep you posted.

Q. You decided to start by publishing the book yourself.. where did that decision come from, and have you learnt a lot during the process?

A. I knew from the start that I wanted to go out on my own first. After years in live theatre where budgets dictated everything and, as I mentioned earlier I just couldn’t treadmill out another 6-person musical, I wanted complete freedom to explore this new field on my own. I wanted to write my book and have fun creating the book cover and I wanted to make an awesome website and book trailer. I wanted to do it all for the fun of it but also to learn the business of books. It was very worth it to me.

However, wearing that many hats, not to mention the Single Mum Crown began to take its toll. I was doing too much and getting burnt out. But the good thing is that I had managed a fair amount of success on my own, which was a great thing to bring to the tables of agents and traditional publishers.

Q. That process has included a impressive looking website and trailer.. can you tell us more about those?

A. For the website, I was very focussed on what I wanted so I researched a bunch of web designers. But most of them were just too corporate minded for me. They were more about ‘the commodity’ and they spoke way too jargon-y. Eventually I found 350 Designs, a couple of twenty year old, self-professed computer geeks who were like “Cool! This is awesome! We could do this and this and…” I knew right away they had the finger on the pulse I wanted to create.

As to the video, I had a bit of a film background and knew some of the low budget tricks like shooting lots of close-ups. I had a blast making the video and it really paid off for me, especially on my book tour. It was a great opener that the kids just loved.

You can find a pretty detailed “making of the video’ account of it on my blog.
http://rootkarbunkulus.com/blog/blog-entries/virtual-tour-day-two

Q. This feels like a story just waiting to be made into a film.. do you have ideas about who you would like to play various characters?

A. People say that all the time. I think I must write very visually. But, yeah, I would love to see it on the big screen! That’d be amazing! I have no idea who I’d like to play the kids’ roles but I would die to have Carol Burnett as one of the aunts. She was my idol growing up! And she’s coming to our city in the fall. I got fourth row tickets! Yaaayyy!

Q. Are you a reader yourself? What do you enjoy reading?

A. I have a mad, mad wonderful growing love affair with books! It runs the gamut. I’m currently reading yet another Terry Pratchett. And I finally got Coraline by Neil Gaiman, which I’m so excited to read! I also just picked up The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. I loved Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez. It goes on…and on…

Q. When you’re not busy writing, publishing or promoting, what else do you like to do?

A. That’s funny you ask because my blog today is all about that. I try to balance my writing (which can take over everything like a rebel weed!) with being a mum and a a friend, a runner of my household, a still newbie-ish gardener, a daughter, a happy single chick, a frustrated single chick…blah blah….all of which I think make me a better writer, which makes me a better “hey, let’s go camping!” mum, which makes me a better “I’m gonna attempt a soufflé” cook, which makes that glass of shiraz a perfect accompaniment, especially with a great friend….etc etc

Thank you so much for granting me this time to share with you and your readers. It was a real pleasure.

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UK readers.. a chance to win a signed copy!

Carrie Adams Interview

Having loved The Stepmother, it was a pleasure to ask Carrie Adams the following questions..

Q. If we start at the beginning, have you always enjoyed writing, or is it something that you’ve started recently?

A. I wrote four crime novels under another name but it wasn’t until I wrote THE GODMOTHER that I feel I found my voice.

Q. Your first book, THE GODMOTHER, has been labelled ‘Chick Noir’. Can you tell us a little about what that means, and what makes this book different to ‘chick lit’?

A. A chick is a baby bird, I write for women, perhaps the publisher should have labelled it Hen Pen… Then again maybe it’s a good thing that I don’t work in marketing.

Q.Where did the character of Tessa come from.., is she based on you, or someone that you know?

A. She is a little part of almost every woman I know, we all have strengths and weaknesses, areas we excel and others where we fail.  She is me and she is the complete opposite of me… jeez women are complex!

Q. How about the other characters… do you tend to draw on people you know, or do they come from your imagination?

A. One character is taken completely from real life, the rest are made up, but I’m not telling you which one.

Q. Tessa’s story continues in THE STEPMOTHER… did you plan this from the beginning, or did it become obvious at the end of THE GODMOTHER that she had more to tell?

A. Actually, Tessa only made it into THE STEPMOTHER by the skin of her teeth.  Maybe she shouldn’t have. What was really important to me was that the reader sympathises with both women, the ex-wife (Bea) and the ‘new’ woman (Tessa), this is a story about what happens when your enemy could make the best alibi if only you’d let them.

Q. You tackle a lot of varying issues in your books, how do you ‘research’ these…do you draw on the experiences of friends, or find other people to talk to you.

A. For this book I needed the wisdom of hindsight, but hindsight can only be earned, so I talked to a lot of women who’d earned it.  The idea came a long time ago from a vicar I know who told me women burying elderly parents often ‘confessed’ that their inconsolable grief was really reserved for a secret loss many years previously – that may sound weird but I don’t want to give too much away.

Q. I could imagine your books as films… who would you like to see playing Tessa and Bea?

A. Helen McCory would be a good Bea, but she’d have to eat some buns. I’d like an unknown for Tessa, I went to some lengths to keep her physical details to a minimum so that the reader could transpose themselves on to her if they like.

Q. How long, on average, does each book take to write, starting from the initial idea?

A. Interesting question.  The publisher is always clambering for a book a year, but I think characters take more than that to solidify.  I throw out many ideas before the one that comes along so that I can see from end to end in an instant.

Q. Can you tell us a little about what you’re working on next? Are you carrying on the stories of any of these characters, or moving on to something different?

A. I’ll let you know when I know.

Q. Do you enjoy reading for relaxation? If so, which books and authors do you enjoy?

A. Reading combines my two other favourite things – bath oil and good wine, I get irritable if I don’t have a book on the go.  As for favourites, that is always such a hard question.  If I had to take a collection to a desert island Pat Conroy springs to mind, or John Irving, then again can’t go wrong with Jilly Cooper, then again I love THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, and TO KILL A MOCKINGBORD is a must… oh I don’t know, ask me one on sport.

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Linda Gillard Interview

Having discovered this amazing author, I was very pleased to have her visit us as a Featured Author. These are just some of the highlights…

Q. Is writing something that you’ve always done? Did you write as a child, or was it something that came later in life?

A. suppose I have always written. I’ve certainly always made up stories in my head! I used to be a big letter writer too. I worked as a freelance journalist and as an actress so words have always been my thing.

I wrote my first novel many years ago when I had 2 small children and was quietly going mad at home (as you do). I tried to get that one published but after 2 years of rejection slips I gave up. I cringe now when I think how awful that novel probably was, but there were some interesting characters in it which I “recycled” in my 2nd novel, A LIFETIME BURNING. I think because I’d lived with those characters for about 18 years, it gave ALB a sense of depth and I was able to write about those lives in some detail. (ALB covers a period of 58 years in one family.)

I didn’t try for publication again until I’d turned 50. By then I’d abandoned a career as a primary teacher after a breakdown and long period of illness. I’d taken up writing fiction just as something to do – for pleasure and as a kind of therapy. The novel I began then eventually became EMOTIONAL GEOLOGY, my first published novel. I’d joined a writers’ e-group and they encouraged me to try to get an agent. I didn’t think I’d stand a chance because EG was such a quirky book and had a 47 year old romantic heroine and this was in the heyday of Chicklit, so I sent off the manuscript with no expectation of success. But I found an agent who loved it (actually I think she loved my hero ) and then we found a publisher. So I began my 5th career (if you count motherhood) at the age of 53 when my first novel was published. It’s never too late for a new start! (Which is one of the “messages” of EMOTIONAL GEOLOGY.)

Q. Do you get time to read for pleasure? and if so who are your favourite authors, genres etc?

A. I don’t read that much for pleasure for a variety of reasons and this is a source of great regret. I write fulltime and I tend to work long days. I like to watch DVDs to relax. Reading when you’re writing can be very distracting stylistically and I tend to read anything but the contemporary fiction I write. If it’s good you get depressed, if it’s bad you get depressed (“Why is this selling in shedloads and I’m not?!”). So I like to read historical fiction (esp. Dorothy Dunnett whom I re-read all the time) and biography (I loved M Forster’s biog. of Daphne du Maurier) because there’s no overlap with my own work.

The other kind of reading I do is for research and I will always have a stack of books sitting on a table which I dip into, eg I read 3 autobiographical books written by blind people when I was researching STAR GAZING. For the book I’ve just finished drafting I read a biography of Enid Blyton. (Fascinating!)

But I do read some contemporary stuff. I recently discovered Sophie Hannah whom I’d recommend if you like psychological thrillers. I really admired Stef Penney’s TENDERNESS OF WOLVES. My favourite read so far this year is MR PIP by Lloyd Jones which I thought was brilliant. I also loved the Victorian detective romp, SILENT IN THE GRAVE by Deanna Raybourn.

Q. A lot of writers seem to come from either a publishing environment or have worked as a journalist before, do you think your background as a journalist helped when it came to trying to find an agent and publisher?

A. Another good question! You’re right – a disproportionate number of authors are ex-journalists. Publishers like journalists. They have a proven track record, a writing CV. They are used to being edited. They understand marketing. They meet deadlines. They are full of ideas. Perhaps most importantly they know people, they listen and research for a living, so their work is likely to have a certain depth.

There is also the factor that journalists are social animals and will have made a lot of contacts and publishing is a small, incestuous, back-scratching world where networking is an essential part of getting on.

None of this applied to me however! I was a freelance living in East Anglia and was never on the London circuit even though I wrote a column for IDEAL HOME for 12 years. And when I was trying to find an agent and a publisher for my first novel I was living on the Isle of Skye, my current home, so there was no London/journalism factor operating in my favour then. But I think being a journalist taught me how to write concisely, how to edit and how to think about marketing myself and my books.

As a journalist you are trying to write so that the casual reader will read to the end of your article and not turn the page in search of something more interesting. You are constantly

As a writer of fiction I aim to make it almost impossible for you to put my books down. As a journalist I wanted your eye to travel smoothly on till it got to the end of the piece. It’s the same aim and you use some of the same techniques. aware of the need to entertain and inform. I think this training pays off when you come to write fiction. You know that you absolutely must not bore your reader which means you mustn’t waste words and you must maintain their interest.

Q. Linda, what kind of research did you do to write from a blind person’s perspective?

A. I didn’t do a lot of research, Michelle. I read some books written by blind people that were very helpful (though none of them was written by anyone congenitally blind which was what I’d decided to make my heroine.) I researched on the internet, but mostly I relied on my imagination. It was just a question of removing any visual element from my thinking and allowing the other senses to come to the fore. I did do a certain amount of walking around in the dark or with my eyes closed. (I even tried that in the streets when there was no one around I would bump into!)

Once I’d got my brain in gear it was actually quite easy to write like this and very interesting. I enjoyed the challenge of depicting a hero according to what he sounds/feels/smells like!

I think writing in this way has changed the way I write now, even the way I think. I’ve realised how limited we are by sight. We are a visually fixated culture, but we look without seeing. We rarely bring our other senses fully into play. Writers tend to focus on the visual, to the exclusion of the other senses. Writing STAR GAZING was an artistically enriching experience for me. I realised I’d previously limited myself as a writer by just presenting a visual picture to the reader, instead of engaging all their other senses.

I must say that I never expected readers to be as positive in their response as they have been. I thought they might find the blind “point of view” a bit dull, but in fact they’ve said they’ve found it fascinating to experience life in such a different way – one they’ve never given much thought to.

It was a very interesting month, and you can read the rest of the discussion on the forum.

Visit Linda’s Official Site