The Aldabreshin Compass
The Orbit Web Site - Southern Fire
The Orbit Web Site - Creating the World
Forbidden Planet International - Eastern Tide
FantasyCon 2006
Guest of Honour Interview for the Souvenir Programme Book
The Orbit Web Site - Eastern Tide
Southern Fire is the first book in a new series, The Aldabreshin Compass. How does it feel to be embarking on something new?
Mostly, it’s exciting. Starting with an almost entirely clean canvas is extremely liberating. For a start, I’m not writing with previous books bristling with strips of post-its beside me, to make sure I maintain the internal consistency of what’s gone before. On the other hand, I don’t have those same books as a security blanket, so it’s also a bit scary. The world building, cultural notes and character studies have already generated a thick file for me to refer to. Rather paradoxically, that helps me focus on the central story rather than get diverted into irrelevant background. Finding a fresh voice for my central character was the main initial challenge. Once I had that, I could really pursue the new ideas that have brought me to the Aldabreshin Archipelago and that is taking the thrill of writing to a whole new level.
The new book is set in the same world as the Einarinn books. Do readers need to have read those other novels, or is this an opportunity for McKenna virgins to give your work a try?
I’m writing this series on the basis that people won’t need to have read the earlier books to enjoy them. I want to get out from under that weight of continuity for one thing. As a reader myself I also know how daunting it can be to find an interesting looking book and then realise you’ve got half a shelf of backlist to tackle first. That’s not to say there won’t be added value for folk who’ve read the Tales. We saw various aspects of life in the Archipelago in The Swordsman’s Oath, so that’s the one book I’ve got to hand with post-its sticking out of it. There are some cross-overs into Southern Fire and there’ll be more in subsequent books but only where they arise naturally out of the logic governing the Aldabreshin Compass series.
What new treats are in store for your existing legion of fans?
I wrote each of the Tales determined not to repeat what I’d done before, and that applies even more so with a whole new series. In terms of the plot, I’m exploring a couple of ideas that have been intriguing me since I first sketched out the Archipelago. In general, why are these people so opposed to magic and what does that mean for them in a world where magic undeniably exists? In particular, what do the Aldabreshi do if magic turns up causing trouble? Combine that with another interesting question, namely what if all wizards aren’t as urbane and civilized as those of Hadrumal, and the scene is set for some dramatic conflict as well as increasingly hard choices for our hero.
Stylistically, I hope the fans will enjoy the change from blending first and third person points of view to a wholly third person narrative which enables me to integrate background and scene setting into the flow of the story which gives it quite a different feel.
What can new readers expect from the series (in a nutshell)?
Fantasy adventure in a tropical climate with its roots far from the northern European staples of the genre. Engaging characters facing mayhem that brooks no compromise as well as insidious dangers on every side.
How many novels do you have planned for this story arc?
Four. Once I’d finished kicking all my ideas around, I found there were four stories offering reasonably complete episodes within the overall narrative. Given various aspects of Archipelagan culture tying those four books to the cardinal points of the compass was both appropriate and satisfying.
So it's a pretty serious epic, then?!
Well, it’s not Ben Hur - though there are a lot of galleys… I don’t know. Epic’s a word for other people. I’m not setting out to write something weighty and portentous. On the other hand, I am dealing with some darker issues in this series, with people who don’t have the option of just walking away from these problems. Life certainly gets deadly serious for them.
What were you reading during the time you were working on Southern Fire?
In terms of research for the series? All kinds of things from David Attenborough’s Zoo Quest books to the Lonely Planet Guide to Indonesia to serious histories of the Middle East and the Ottoman and Mughal Empires. I can now also bore for England on exactly how the different types of classical and medieval galleys work and have a shelf of books on astronomy, astrology, divination and superstition.
What about novels? Did any of those influence your work?
It was the usual mixture. Contemporary whodunnits from the UK and the US, ranging from the tongue-in-cheek comic to the scarily psychological, as well as classic Noir, interspersed with novels of varying degrees of seriousness from Booker prize winners through historicals to mass market schlock. I generally save up fantasy and SF books for school holidays when I’m not working as intensely and can enjoy them properly.
As far as direct influence goes, when I’m writing I read fiction to get away from my own work, so hopefully not. In general terms, I find a focus on the narrative drives the books I enjoy most so I try to maintain in my own work.
What else has impacted on your writing?
Apart from what I read? There are the things I see. I visit a lot of museums and galleries, often to look as specific exhibitions or collections relevant to what I’m writing. I find the more vivid something is in my mind’s eye, the better I can convey it in words. There’s also a lot of what I hear. I’m always interested to meet new people and hear their experiences, whether or not they’re directly related to what I’m working on at the moment. Radio 4 often throws up fascinating facts and characters.
On a day to day basis, the inescapable fact of being a mother of two under-tens impacts on my work. I can write when the kids are at school, when they’re in bed, or when my husband’s around to be Duty Parent. With my writing time so tightly timetabled, I don’t want to waste any of it, so I multi-task things like housework and ironing with thinking ahead to what I’m going to be writing next. This certainly helps me avoid too many false starts and blind alleys.
When can we expect to see volume two?
Well, I’m 75,000 words into Northern Storm and as soon as I’m done here, I’ll be getting back to it. The summer holiday hiatus means I pick up the work in progress at the start of September and spend a week smoothing out the lumps and rough edges that I immediately notice. Then it’s head down and writing non-stop till it’s done, hopefully sometime in January. Bearing in mind all the editing and proofing stages, the finished book should be hitting the bookshops around this time next year.
The Aldabreshin Archipelago first appears in The Swordsman’s Oath, second tale of Einarinn. To paint a convincing civilization where autocrats enjoy absolute power within their borders and face ruthless rivals beyond them, I blended what I knew of medieval sub-Saharan states with elements from Japanese, Polynesian and Meso-American history. But far more detail was going to be required to sustain a whole series set among the Archipelagans. Fortunately, I’m a history buff, and with research habits learned as an undergraduate ingrained for life, wider reading was no hardship.
I updated my knowledge of medieval Africa. I read books on the courts of the caliphs, a history of the Arab peoples and another on the rise of Islam. To ensure variety within the Archipelago, I studied the Byzantine Empire, finding influential queens as paradigms for the powerful wives of Aldabreshin warlords. Eunuchs are mentioned in The Swordsman’s Oath, so I found analysis of their role in Byzantium and the Ottoman Empire. The ruthless methods those Emperors used to be rid of surplus sons also suited my purposes. I learned some Persian history and went as far as Moghul India. Archipelagans keep slaves, so I added reading on medieval Islamic servitude to my knowledge of Greek and Roman slavery. With conflict between the mainland and the Archipelago set to be significant, I read more on Mayan and Inca interactions and clashes with Spanish conquistadors, and about the spice trade that first prompted Columbus to sail.
Archipelagans condemn wizardry as abomination, punishable by death. In The Swordsman’s Oath, I’d explained they believe it corrupts the natural order, distorting omens to be read in the flight of birds or conjunctions of stars in the night sky. To build a coherent belief system supporting that, I researched Babylonian and Egyptian astrology, combining that steady-state cosmology with Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy as well as aspects of Middle Ages scholarship where astrology, astronomy and science converged. I read up on prediction and portent from ancient Rome through to New Age mysticism, as well as symbolism, to create an original zodiac, or compass of the heavens.
Needing colours, textures, sounds and sensations to bring everything to life, I visited museums to look at art, artefacts and textiles from the historical cultures I’d researched. I read Lonely Planet and Rough Guides to Indonesia and the Pacific. National Geographic’s CD-Rom archive supplied travellers’ recollections of exotic places and peoples before the advent of mass tourism. The Internet supplied David Attenborough’s books on his Zoo Quest expeditions of the 1950’s and Michael Palin’s travels similarly stimulated my imagination. I discovered a new book about Robert Drury, enslaved in Madagascar in the early 1700’s, who published his memoirs in 1729. Friends and family who’d visited Indo-China, Africa and Polynesia were encouraged to share photos and stories.
Don’t worry. You won’t be bored rigid by all this. If first drafts stray into irrelevancies, my test readers and editors soon get me back on track. Research should be like icebergs: only a fraction ever showing above the surface. It’s the telling detail, the vivid image, the logical underpinning for the fantastic briefly revealed that convinces readers that imagined worlds are real. And much as I enjoy doing my research, I know as a reader myself that the finest created world is an empty façade without vibrant characters and an engaging plot. As a writer, that’s where the fun, and the challenge, really starts.
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Forbidden Planet International - Eastern Tide
The Aldabreshin Compass turns to its final point as the tide of events sweeps Kheda eastwards from the western shore where we last saw him, to bring him all the way home.
The final novel in a fantasy series presents various challenges. After, in this case, three previous volumes, events have generated their own momentum that inexorably steer the story. How familiar characters will react is well-established. The writer absolutely must keep faith with all this yet must continue to wrong-foot the reader with unforeseen twists. If the series has been full of peril thus far, the author has to find ways to escalate the challenges without tipping the characters into a cataclysm they cannot hope to survive if this fantasy world and crucially its internal logic are to remain intact.
I faced all these complexities writing Eastern Tide. Compared to The Tales of Einarinn, the Aldabreshin Compass sequence has drawn far more of an on-going arc, both as regards overall plot and for the individuals within it. Kheda, the central character, has come a long way from the security of his former life as a powerful warlord, surrounded by wives and children. Faced with fighting magic, in a culture where wizardry is a capital crime, he has been forced to compromise his beliefs to save his people. As a consequence he has come to question those fundamental beliefs and all that rests upon them, for himself and for his people. His travels, seeking to save his home, have taken him far away with unexpected companions.
In many ways, an easier choice for a writer would be to take him further on that journey. The harder choice but the more intriguing one for the reader, more satisfying as far as the overall story goes, is to bring him back home again. Now he has to face the world he knew in the light of his new ideas. How can he fulfil his responsibilities as a ruler, when his beliefs have changed so much? How can he fulfil his responsibilities as a father, when he has sacrificed his children’s happiness for the sake of his wider obligations? How can he return to a marriage of policy and expedience, when he has fallen in love with another woman? What will he do if she refuses to return his love, now he has abandoned beliefs she still cherishes?
Kheda has travelled incognito to avoid curious eyes as he’s made deals with wizards that his culture would utterly condemn. As a result he’s learned that mages are men and women of good, bad and indifferent character just like his own people. They can make good and bad choices as they use their magical power, just as the warlords he deals with wield their military and political might. He’s also gained a better understanding of just why the Aldabreshi have historically hated magic. He’s seen it abused for personal aggrandizement and been caught up in the catastrophic results of magic wielded with the best of intentions but without any clear appreciation of the likely consequences. Mages can indeed be very dangerous to know. Thanks to them, dragons are threatening the Aldabreshin Archipelago once again.
Kheda alone has the knowledge and wizardly contacts to save the domains of warlords he doesn’t even know, of those he’s allied with, and of those he detests. Who will he choose to help? How will he help them? He has no authority travelling as a nameless slave. Reclaiming his rank gives him the power to act but also makes him the focus of keen attention. His old enemies have not forgotten why they want him dead. Everything he does is scrutinised with considerable curiosity. The danger that his dealings with wizards will be uncovered becomes all the more acute. What will happen then?
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FantasyCon 2006
Guest of Honour Interview for the Souvenir Programme Book
What are we going to see in Eastern Tide?
This final book of the series sees the story come full circle. Western Shore saw Kheda and his wizardly allies confronting dragons that live on a distant island out in the unknown ocean. The events of Northern Storm should have warned him that these dragons have a tendency to fly east when their lairs are destroyed. A lot of this series has been driven by the unforeseen consequences of the best intentioned actions and the most malicious. Now Kheda, Risala, and Velindre must find a way to rid several Aldabreshin domains of dragons, without revealing the magic they’re using as wizardry remains a capital crime. Initially they travel incognito, the better to go unnoticed. Unfortunately anonymous travellers lack both power and influence in a culture that values these things far more highly than mere money. Once Kheda is recognised, the news of his return travels fast to friends, enemies and to his family. Now he cannot avoid dealing with the consequences of all his actions since those very first fires were seen on the southern horizon.
You’ve mentioned on your website that you’re got a proposed trilogy dealing with the Lescari Revolution as well as, potentially, a contemporary fantasy in the works... How are they progressing?
The plan for the Lescari Revolution trilogy is coming together nicely now I’ve worked out the complete plots of all three books. I’ve spent the summer addressing the finer details of the first book and reading historical biographies for inspiration to flesh out key characters. I’ve got a few more things I want to read on various historical Civil Wars and the Age of Enlightenment then I’ll be ready to start writing.
The contemporary fantasy is about half-written. I’m at that point where I can see what I want to do with the last half quite clearly and at the same time, I can look back at what I’ve written so far and see all the things that I need to improve, tweak, or change completely to achieve what I want. Only I know I mustn’t go back to do all that until I’ve got the whole first draft completed. It’s been a real change of pace and very refreshing after ten years of swords and sorcery. In a lot of ways it’s been like writing my first book again, or rather, like writing The Thief’s Gamble, which was the first book I wrote that warranted a shot at publication. As soon as my sons are back at school I’ll be concentrating on getting it finished and polished up.
What authors (in any genre) have influenced you in the past (both by reading their work or just chatting to them about things)?
That’s a really difficult question because there are so many people I could list and I’d still worry about missing someone out. Anne McCaffrey was the very first author I heard give a talk, and who I met to talk to afterwards. She talked a great deal of common sense about the writer’s life and was generous with her advice and encouragement. The same is true for Philip Pullman, Diana Wynne Jones, Joanne Harris, Val McDermid, PD James, Natasha Cooper, Andrew Edwards, John Whitbourn…and so many more, not least my colleagues in The Write Fantastic. All their books have influenced me and continue to do so as I’ve learned to read with an analytical eye and really appreciate the different skills at work in their writing. David Gemmell’s books were a crucial influence when I was coming to understand exactly why my first fantasy masterwork was (and remains) unpublishable and I’m deeply sorry I’ll never have a chance to meet him now.Who are you reading for fun at the moment? What elements make a book appeal to you? And what are automatic turn offs?
At the moment I’m mostly reading crime fiction, notably the latest by Minette Walters, John Harvey and Andrew Edwards’ Lydmouth mysteries. These are all well-plotted with plenty of surprises along the way, with vividly drawn, convincing characters and a strong sense of place, all essentials for me as a reader. The Lydmouth books are particularly atmospheric as they’re set in the 1950’s and even that comparatively recent past really can be another country. Recent turn-offs have come from a couple of crime thrillers where the slasher/psycho/serial killer elements have descended into exploitation and titillation rather than any valid exploration. That kind of thing makes me put down a book of any genre, as well as thin characterisation or unfeasible plotting.You’ve written novels, a novella and short stories – is there a length of writing that’s more comfortable for you to do?
I’m a natural novel writer, no question. All my early attempts at writing were planned as full-length from the outset. I’ve only been able to really grasp the different demands of short stories and novellas since the editing that my novels go through has honed my writing skills. Now I really enjoy the challenge of writing to a shorter length. All the same, I still write short fiction at about a quarter the speed I write novels.Do you find writing the factual things i.e. reviews and articles a welcome break? Have you ever considered writing in collaboration with another author, like one of the other WF-ers?
Writing reviews and articles certainly offers a break from the fiction and that’s always useful, on the principle that a change is as good as a rest. The most valuable thing is the chance to step back from my own work in progress and look at the wider business of writing, at bookselling and publishing and at craft skills in general, through the prism of other people’s work. That way, I avoid writer’s tunnel vision where I cannot see the wider wood for the trees. Perspective is crucial in this game.Collaborative writing is something that interests me but I don’t see myself ever managing a novel in partnership with anyone else. Having done a lot of gaming in the past, I’ve always enjoyed shared-world writing and would certainly like to try working with other writers along those lines. If I ever get the chance to try my hand at screenwriting or comics that would inevitably be a collaborative experience and I’d be fascinated to see how it differs from my usual way of working. Of course, I’d need to find some spare time to do any of those things.
You’ve done a lot of a creative writing teaching: with workshops, short courses and the forthcoming week long a course at the Castle of Park in Scotland in October… how did you get started on teaching? Is it something you’d liked to do more of? And can you tell us a little about the kind of things you’ll be covering in October?
I started teaching quite by chance. I was going to a convention where creative writing seminars were programmed but the person taking them was forced to pull out at the last minute. Since I’d done some training when I was a personnel officer, I put up my hand when the appeal went up from the organisers. I had fun and everyone got plenty from the session but I did come away thinking how I could have managed some aspects better. So when I was asked to do a workshop at another convention, I couldn’t resist trying out those ideas. Once I’d done two sessions, word got around that I was a person to ask. As I began to assess aspiring writers’ submissions against the published books that I was reviewing I found myself with more ideas. The same issues dividing the publishable from the merely promising cropped up again and again; plotting and characterisation are central to the day and half-day courses I’ve developed.The Castle of Park course offers me the chance to go into much more depth on these things as well as tackling key writing skills like dialogue and scene-setting with practical exercises. And I’ll be able to devote plenty of time to the practicalities of book-selling, publishing and making the most effective submissions to editors and agents. Crucially, there’ll be one-on-one sessions with the writers, focusing on their own projects, which just isn’t something I can do in short courses.
There’s a strong tradition in genre circles of writers passing on the lessons they’ve learned, so I’m repaying the debt I owe, thanks to the authors who were so generous with advice and encouragement when I was an aspiring hopeful. I also get plenty out of the sessions for myself, since explaining key elements of writing skills always sharpens up the critical eye I need to bring to my own work, every time I sit down at my keyboard. Still, I have to limit myself to only doing a few courses a year, otherwise I cannot justify the time it takes.
The Write Fantastic – how’s it going and what can we look forward to in the future?
It’s going very well, thanks for asking. We had a great spring with library events in St Helens, Ealing, and Leicester, and taking part in the Lincoln Book Festival and Derby’s alt.fiction day. As well as a good TWF presence at FantasyCon this autumn, Stan and Mark will be part of Sheffield’s Off the Shelf literary festival and a good few of us will be the Heffer’s event in Cambridge in November. We’re also discussing a West Country event with Trowbridge’s Ottakar’s/Waterstones towards the end of the year. So far for early 2007, we’ve got a library event at Sevenoaks lined up, as well as appearances at Derby’s second alt.fiction day and the Swindon Festival of Art and Literature to be finalised. That’s just for starters.Do you still do any LRP or other gaming?
Very rarely, sadly. There just aren’t enough hours in the day or days in the week, for us, or for the friends we used to do these things with, what with jobs and house moves taking them to other parts of the country and families coming along. I occasionally run table-top sessions for my sons and their pals and we did run a LRP event for the local cub scouts last summer. All the lads were hobbits defending the Shire from nasties coming up the Greenway while Frodo and the rest were dealing with the Ring. It was tremendous fun and with our own sons involved there was an irresistible LRP TNG air to it all. We still have all the kit as well as the books, the figures, the dice…And finally… what are your top 3 tips for aspiring writers?
Firstly, don’t get it right, get it written. Trying to rewrite as you go is madness.
Second, revise that first draft with a sternly critical eye. You will not get it right first time out. No one ever does. Then revise it again, and again if you need to, as many times as it takes, just as long as you are always moving forward to a better version. When you’re not, stop.
Thirdly, when you think you’ve got your beloved book as nearly perfect as you can, seek out test readers who will not hesitate to tell you where the plot logic is shaky, where the characterisation is unconvincing, where the scenery wobbles, where the pacing falls flat, where key events lose impact through underwriting, where everything gets bogged down in overwriting. Embrace such constructive criticism to improve your story or accept that this one isn’t going to make the grade and start looking for a new idea.
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The Orbit Web Site - Eastern Tide
Orbit: Were you a big reader as a child/teenager ?
Absolutely. I was one of those children who’d be reading at the breakfast table, on the bus, in the playground, under the desk in class if I could get away with it and under the bedclothes with my bike light after my official bedtime.
Orbit: When did you start writing?
Probably within a few months of learning to read. I think I must have been about eight or nine when I filled one and a half-exercise books with my first alleged novel, which was, naturally enough, a total rip-off of a series I was currently enjoying from the library.
Orbit: Why do you write?
Because it’s such a natural thing for me to do. I’ve been making up stories for as long as I can remember and the obvious next step was putting them on paper. That’s the easy bit. The challenge after that was learning how to write something that other people found worth reading and that’s the hardest bit. These days I write to entertain my readers and hopefully to challenge them with some new ideas and perspectives. The challenge for me is exploring the fantasy genre as well as looking at our own world through that magic mirror, all the while constantly developing and honing my writing skills.
Orbit: Which writers have influenced you?
I honestly can’t say, because I’m afraid if I ever start analysing my own work like that, I’d become paralysed with self-consciousness. At the same time I believe absolutely that every book I’ve ever read, from the best to the worst, will have had some influence on my writing.
Orbit: What's the hardest thing about being a writer and what's the easiest ?
The hardest thing is sitting down and stringing the words together, day after day, week after week, month after month. Though on a good day, when the prose is flowing, let’s be honest, being a writer is a fabulous job. On a bad day, when half an hour’s slid by and I’m still struggling to find the right words for a ten line paragraph, it’s torment.
The easiest thing is spinning those first shimmering ideas for a new story out of my imagination. Turning those airy threads into a coherent and robust yarn is more of a challenge, mind you.
Orbit: How do comments from other people, such as your readers, affect your writing?
Other people’s comments offer me a broader perspective on what I’m writing. When I’m absorbed in a story, I can end up too close to it, unable to see the wood for the trees. A novel is always going to be the product of one person’s imagination but for it to be any good, it has to speak to a wide range of readers. If a test reader just isn’t seeing what I want them to see in an early version, I must look very closely at my writing to see where the problem lies and work out how to communicate my ideas most effectively by the final draft.
Once a book’s published, I’m always interested in what people make of it but there’s nothing I can do to change it, so there’s nothing to be gained by taking any review too personally. Occasionally I’ll see a comment, either positive or negative, with some constructive bearing on what I’m currently writing and I’ll think that through carefully before I go on.
Talking to my keenest readers has prompted my own imagination to take an unforeseen twist on more than one occasion, when I’ve heard about something that’s intrigued them about often incidental characters or incidents, and particularly when they tell me what insignificant loose threads they still want to see tied up.
Orbit: You write articles and reviews, as well as novels, give talks and attend discussion panels at conventions, and teach creative writing courses. How does all this fit into your life as a writer ? Does it stop you writing ?
These days, maintaining a visible profile is an increasing challenge for genre and mid-list writers. Writing reviews and articles, being interviewed and making appearances at conventions and elsewhere all helps with letting potential readers know who I am and what I’m like. Hopefully that encourages them to give my books a try. These activities are also very valuable for me as a writer, making me think constantly about the craft of writing and keeping me alert as to the expectations of keen readers of all kinds of books. Teaching creative writing is a little different, in that I’m really just returning the cosmic favour there. So many authors, often very eminent ones, were so helpful and encouraging when I was an aspiring writer that I feel honour bound to carry on that tradition.
Yes, there are times when all this does stop me writing, simply because it takes me away from my keyboard. On the other hand, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, as long as I make sure it doesn’t happen too often. If I’m travelling somewhere by train I can catch up on some reading. If I’m driving, I will often have some useful and frequently wholly unexpected idea to improve what I’m currently working on, prompted by something I hear on the radio or on a CD or just out of a clear blue sky.
Orbit: Do you have a favourite character in your books, and if so who and why?
I’m always going to have a soft spot for Livak as creating her and her story inspired me with the energy and enthusiasm necessary to write my first publishable novel, The Thief’s Gamble. I’ve spent the last four years with Kheda and charting his complex story through The Aldabreshin Compass has been both challenging and rewarding, so he means a great deal to me. Once I go beyond that, and think how much I like, say, Shiv, I immediately start to argue with myself and think, yes, but what about Ryshad or Allin or Temar or Telouet or Itrac or pretty much anyone else. The only characters I can’t say I’m fond of are the villains and they’re still perversely satisfying to write.
Orbit: A lot of writers seem to have a strict routine whilst they're writing – do you have one too, or does being a mother prevent that ?
In some ways, having school-age children forces a routine on me. Monday to Friday, I start writing as soon as they’re out of the house and carry on till they reappear. I generally turn to admin tasks like email while they unwind for a bit and then we’re all together for after-school activities and cooking tea and watching telly, that kind of thing. I don’t find this is a bad thing because it does mean I never get a chance to write myself to a standstill. I’m always keen to get back to my keyboard.
As they’ve got older, it’s got easier to work at weekends and the school holidays but that’s not necessarily a good thing as writers need time off just like anyone else. I tend to do more reading than writing when they’re off school, on the basis that a change is as good as a rest.
Orbit: If a film-maker wanted to adapt your books, would you jump at the chance or turn them down ?
My first impulse would be to say, show me the money! It would be very hard to walk away from a film offer, given the authors I know who’ve seen their kids through university on option fees for books that have still never come within sniffing distance of being made into a film. On the other hand, I hope I’d have the sense to take a deep breath and look carefully at who was making the offer, to see if their vision for the film chimed with my feel for the books, and find out if they had the finance and talent lined up to make something we could all be proud of. If that didn’t look likely, I hope I’d be able to say thanks but no thanks and wait for a better prospect. I know authors who’ve ultimately been very thankful they’ve done that.
Orbit: You recently started a Blog, what are the pros and cons of being a Blogging writer ?
The biggest plus of blogging is the increased real(ish)-time contact with readers and other writers, about book-related issues and about other multifarious aspects of life, from the serious to the seriously silly. The Internet is all about expanding horizons as far as I’m concerned and blogging has given that a personal dimension that I love. The biggest disadvantage is the way it could so easily take up far more time that is sensible, if I’m not very strict with myself.
Orbit: How do you relax ?
Like anyone else, by getting away from my work. I read, only I read mostly crime and mystery fiction because that’s what I don’t write. I meet pals locally for coffee once a week. I watch telly, a lot of cop shows and also SF&F like Stargate, Smallville, Battle Star Galactica and Doctor Who. I adore The West Wing. A group of us mums go to the cinema every so often, when there’s a film our assorted husbands and sons would never want to watch. Spending all day in front of a keyboard does mean relaxation can paradoxically end up being physical exercise. Two nights a week I do a couple of hours of Aikido, a Japanese defensive martial art and once a week I hit the gym for an hour or so.
Orbit: Thank you for your time.
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