One
thing is certain. Writers and readers go hand in hand. I’ve yet to meet an
author who doesn’t read for pleasure despite their minds being in a
constant state of write-edit-read-rewrite-edit-read. I’ve even gotten to the
point where I edit my emails, blog and facebook posts not once, but twice,
before I hit send (and it’s a good thing sometimes)
My daughter and I were talking the other
day about the things we do (or don’t do) after a particularly stressful day at
work. (the day job earning a paycheck necessary to pay the bills). She prefers
to spend what little free time she manages zoning out in front of the
television, and I do that occasionally. But for the most part, I find myself
reading or writing. Either exercise enables me to leave my everyday world far
behind and travel to places only accessible from my imagination. And if someone
has given me a really difficult time, what better way to let off steam than to
channel my irritation through a character in my latest WIP?
People are always asking me where my ideas
come from and how I pick my genres. To be honest, I never considered writing
anything else. Even before I knew there was such a thing as science fiction or
fantasy, I knew what kind of books drew me and held my attention. Whether it
was a noble quest, a trip to another world, or the discovery of magic in
someone’s otherwise ordinary life, it didn’t matter.
I’ve been making up stories since I was a
little girl. In fact, I still have my first “book”, complete with
illustrations, written in pencil on lined notebook paper, folded and bound with
a red ribbon. I believe I was six years old at the time. My grandparents were
story tellers. So were my parents. I can remember evenings lying stretched out
across the cool concrete in the darkness of our porch, listening to them spin
tales about things that happened years earlier. Some of the stories were even
passed down from their parents.
When I wasn’t listening to stories, I
haunted the library for books that held my attention. Early on I discovered Ray
Bradbury, Poul Anderson, Madeline L’Engle, Andre Norton, and many others. I
discovered visiting other worlds in other times was right up my alley. Those
fantastic adventures took my imagination farther than I had ever dreamed it
could go. They were the kind of books I hated to finish reading, the ones I
wanted to go on forever.
Urban
fantasy, time travel, science fiction, and paranormal stories fill my kindle
and my book shelves, and that’s pretty much what I write. Remember Twilight
Zone? Or Steven Spielberg’s series “Amazing Stories”? Twisty, quirky little
plots, involving someone ordinary, like you or me, and how they deal with
something that goes beyond their realm of reality are the kind of books I love
to read. It
was only natural for me to want to write the same kind of stories.
To me, the
perfect read begins with the reader wondering “what if” and ends up with them
thinking “why not”. Author Richard Matheson once said, "I
think we're yearning for something beyond the every day.” As far as I’m
concerned, he couldn’t have put it better. We want to push our imagination to
the limit and experience the things we envision. To me, there is no better way
to do this than through reading or writing. The difference between the two?
When I am writing, I get to decide what the story is about, where it goes, what
each character does and what happens as a result. It’s a heady feeling, and I
love it!
That brings us to the subject of
characters—one of my favorite topics. Character development is fascinating.
There’s nothing better than to be able to watch a character’s personality
unfold during the course of the story. A reader can be privy to their strengths
and weaknesses. They can relate to the way they handle their experiences. Some
authors are so good at doing this they have me shedding actual tears when
something happens to one of my favorite characters. That’s one of my goals as a
writer.
Maybe that’s why I find myself getting
attached to the characters in my stories, especially some of the minor ones. In
my first book, Not Long Ago, Arvo, the tailor’s gangly, red-headed son
is a charmer with an eye for the ladies. He loves to listen to gossip and keeps
Erin, a young woman who time travels from the present to a medieval society, informed
of castle goings-on. Arvo also knows she’s masquerading as a boy, but keeps her
secret. He even helps her sneak into the Masked Ball so she can dance with the
handsome knight, Sir Griffin. In the end he turns out to be a fast friend Erin
never forgets.
Secondary characters don’t have to drive
the plot, so there is a little more freedom in developing their personalities.
It was not my intention for Arvo to have more than a supporting role, but he
turned out to be so much fun that he’s back in the sequel, along with others.
And that’s another thing. I never meant for Not Long Ago to become a
series, either, but my daughter insisted the story wasn’t done and after
thinking about it I agreed. So, of course I had to continue.
The most important thing I’ve learned
about the experience of becoming a published author is to never ever give up on
a story. Someone once told me “There is nothing about it that can’t be fixed.
You are the author, after all. You can fill the plot holes, flesh it out,
expand, or condense, learn to say things better and improve.” This advice comes
to mind every time I get discouraged because I’ve discovered something’s not
working the way I thought it would.
My newest book is In My Own Shadow,
a fantasy this time. It came out in May. That’s two books published within a year.
And I’m 80,000 words into the sequel. It’s no wonder I’m tired. But you know
what? I love it all. It’s been a fantastic journey for me, along with Erin,
Griffin, Arvo, Rhys, Lara, Azle and all those yet to come. After finishing this
book, I plan to get lost in the sixties and visit the Texas hill country with a
boy named Eli who talks to ghosts. I can’t wait!!
To find out more about Lara and Rhys:
In My
Own Shadow (fantasy, adventure, romance)
http://tinyurl.com/bqbxm41
To find out more about Sir Griffin, Erin and Arvo:
http://tinyurl.com/bqbxm41
To find out more about Sir Griffin, Erin and Arvo:
Not
Long Ago book trailer
Both
books available at MuseItUp, Amazon, B&N, Goodreads
http://susanroyal.moonfruit.com
http://susanaroyal.wordpress.com
http://susanroyal.moonfruit.com
http://susanaroyal.wordpress.com
I
want to thank Kat Holmes for allowing me to guest on her blog and ramble on
about two of my passion. Kat and her mother, Lin Holmes, are two wonderful
ladies I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know since first signing with
MuseItUp Publishing. Since then, I’ve discovered what great people fellow authors
can be.
Thank you Susan for a wonderful visit. And a huge thank you to everyone who participated in my bash. Enjoy your fall.
1 comment:
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to visit. It's great to be among a group of talented people like all of you. I feel honored!
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