Wordy Wednesday with Claire Colley

Today on Wordy Wednesday I am excited to introduce Claire Colley, who writes contemporary dark fiction, the 'read if you dare' sort. Her new book Season's End is due out soon, and the filming for the script she co-wrote has just finished filming and is now being edited.  

Season's End is a novel about demons, fear and family ties.  It is a disturbing and uncomfortable tale set in a traditional British fun fair, and will make you avoid roller coasters forever!

And so, feeling suitably creeped out, here are the questions I put to Claire, and her excellent answers:

When and why did you start writing? 
I have never lied, but I have always told stories.  As a kid, I would create elaborate stories to get me out of trouble for something I had done that perhaps I shouldn't.  I now just tell my husband that the fairies did it when I perhaps eat his chocolate, or drink the last of the coffee.

What 3 things (not including paper, computer, pens) would you like to facilitate a good days writing?
Without doubt, coffee.  I have an addiction.  I am besotted with my coffee percolator and often leave notes on the front door telling visitors to bugger off unless they are bringing me more coffee.  Strong, black and no sugar, thanks.  Also, my cats.  I talk to them as sounding boards, because they don't tell me what to do.  Finally, erm.... darkness.  Miserable days appeal to me. Black(?) cats, black coffee, black nights...I'm sensing a theme

Picture credit KGHH Design

Do you write to a schedule, eg every day or three times a week, set times, etc or do you write as and when the mood strikes?
I write for at least an hour a day.  I am an insomniac, so very often, I am awake in the early hours of the morning and find the dark and the peace perfect for writing.

Who is your favourite fictional character (that you've written) and why?
Ruth in Wake Up.  She is an arrogant bitch when you first meet her, but as you discover why, she grows on you and you start rooting for her.

Is writing your main source of income? Can you survive on book writing alone? if not, what else do you do?
I don't survive on book writing alone, but I do live on my writing!  I write for a range of companies, doing SEO blogs, CVs, employment documents and stuff like that.

What are your favourite biscuits?
Bourbons.  Dipped in coffee.  Nom nom nom.

Where do you do most of your writing?
I am so bad, I have a proper study/library and I go in there to chill rather than write.  Drives my husband insane, but I often work from the sofa with Christmas movies on in the background.

What book are you reading at the moment?
Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King and Owen King.  I only just started it yesterday, so can't tell you anything yet.

Is truth really stranger than fiction?
Oh hell yes.  Yes indeed.  I can tell you some crazy arsed stories that are completely true that sound so incredible that they feel like fiction.

If you could genetically cross and animal with a fruit or vegetable what would you choose and why? I'm currently keen on a melon hippo, green and water-loving, juicy and HUGE.
Hmmmmm......  A cat with a coffee plant.  I would love if my cats smelt of coffee.  Unfortunately, Tinker Stinks has a rancid bum and Zorro smells fishy.

If reading and writing were banned on pain of death, what would you do instead?
Die. (I think it's only fair to tell you other authors have started an underground writing resistance so I'm sure you could join, as long as the smell of coffee brewing didn't give you all away!)

If you could bring a dead person back from the dead for one day to have tea and a natter with them, who would you choose and why?
This is pretty much the easiest question of the lot.  My Mum.  She passed away in 2015 and I miss her so, so much.  She was the person I talked to about anything and everything.  I was her live in carer too, so I spent everyday with her.  Losing her was the hardest thing that ever happened.  However, I am very close to her 2 remaining sisters, and they are both awesome.  I am off for a weekend away with Auntie M at the end of November because she told me I needed a rest!! Aw! I hope you have a fabulous time.

Claire's website is www.clnorton.co.uk and she is on social media :

On Facebook
On Twitter
On Instagram

Wordy Wednesday with Daniel M Bensen

Welcome again to Wordy Wednesday, a (semi) regular blog interview series with authors from around the world and with variously themed books, writers for all age ranges and tastes can be found here. Today it's the turn of Daniel M Bensen, an American fantasy writer. Daniel was born in Chicago and has since lived in Maine, California, Montana, Japan, and Boston. He currently lives with his wife, daughters, and in-laws in Sofia Bulgaria, where he teaches English as a second language.

Daniel has written a book called The Kingdoms of Evil,  amongst other things. The Kingdoms of Evil is a fantasy satire with some horrific elements. It's about Freetrick Feend, a more or less normal college student in a more or less normal fantasy country, who learns that he is actually Feerborg, the lost heir to the Skull Throne of the Kingdoms of Evil (which is right over those mountains over there). As Ultimate Fiend of the Kingdoms of Evil, Freetrick inherits command over a population of twisted monsters, a family of scheming nobles, a murderous fiance, and the enmity of every one of his country's non-evil neighbours. The biggest problem, though, is that in a land where the sun never shines and the river run with lava, what are the monsters supposed to eat? 

And so I quizzed Daniel, from afar, and this is how it went:

When and why did you start writing?
I tried to write stories way back in 4th grade, but I didn't go about it seriously until after I graduated from college. The extremely un-serious Kingdoms of Evil was the result. I'm now in the middle of my seventh novel. You can find information about all of my books on my website, as well as links to the short stories and the novella that I've actually gotten published.

What 3 things (not including paper, computer, pens) would you like to facilitate a good days writing? Other than my kindle's note-taking function and my laptop, I need nothing but a cup of mocha, a chair, and access to the playlist I've made for the book I'm working on.

Do you write to a schedule, eg every day or three times a week, set times, etc or do you write as and when the mood strikes?
I write every weekday between classes (I teach English as a second language). I work best when it's on a schedule.

Who is your favourite fictional character (that you've written) and why?
The Kaimeera. It's a monster from the kingdoms of evil that assumes the personality of the last person it ate. Ha! Love this idea.

Is writing your main source of income? 
No, I make much more per hour teaching, so talking about writing as my main "job" would be ridiculous. There are novelists who do support themselves by writing novels - but that seems to become possible only after at least three successful releases. Maybe someday. In the mean time, I'm glad to be able to write as a hobby.

What are your favourite biscuits? 
Milanos

Where do you do most of your writing?
Either in my office, in a cafe near my office, or typing into my kindle in a park, bus, or subway car.

What book are you reading at the moment? 
A couple of good ones! What the Hell Did I Just Read by David Wong and The Book of Joy by Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama. Both are very helpful in the hospital. (I hope you have recovered from your op by the time this post is live!)

Is truth really stranger than fiction? 
Of course. Fiction is constrained by the limits of the human brain, which is far from the strangest thing out there.

If you could genetically cross and animal with a fruit or vegetable what would you choose and why?
I'm currently keen on a cauliflower/caterpillar, a cauli-pillar, a bumpy white caterpillar affair that would be nice with cheese...
That's a hard act to follow. I submit the land urchin. They walk very slowly along the forest floor and taste like cactus. nice

If reading and writing were banned on pain of death, what would you do instead? 
Flee to a different (and less doomed) country. Failing that, I suppose I'd have to join The Resistance.This has been a popular response, so I fully expect that a writers resistance would be a thing

If you could bring a dead person back from the dead for one day to have tea and a natter with them, who would you choose and why? 

I'm only allowed to have tea with them? Not start a new religion or revolutionize anthropology? Charles Darwin. He spoke English and we could have a fun conversation. I could catch him up on biology and show him this excellent video: 

Massive thanks, Daniel for taking part.  Thank you. It was a lot of fun.

By now you will be desperate to know more so why not follow Daniel 

On Twitter

On Deviant Art

On Goodreads

On Tumblr

And check out his website The Kingdoms of Evil

Wordy Wednesday with Anna McKerrow

Good Morning Wordy Wednesday Fans - Today I introduce you to Anna McKerrow, she is a new author to me so I popped over to her website to find out a bit more about her.

Anna McKerrow works on arts projects for the reading charity Book Trust, which is where she became interested in Young Adult fiction. (It wasn’t around when she was 15; she went straight from Judy Blume to Jackie Collins). She has also published four volumes of poetry and taught creative writing in adult education for 7 years. She also provides school workshop and book event consultancy to writers and publishers.

Anna is a Pagan, reads the tarot, is a Reiki practitioner, and is a little bit obsessed with stone circles. She believes passionately, like Alan Moore, that creative activities such as writing are a kind of magic in themselves.

Anna sounds pretty fascinating and very experienced in writing, let's see what she answered to my odd questions.

When did you start writing?
As a young child. My first story at about 5 or 6 was a plagiarised story about a giant that “turned purple with rage”, I remember my teacher asking me, Anna, did you really think of that on your own? And like a true writer, I lied and said yes. As an adult I realise that borrowing ideas from other people is essential as a writer, and in fact showed that I was taking in and thinking about what I read. I stand by my theft.

What 3 things (not including paper, computer, pens) would you like to facilitate a good days writing?
Coffee, pastries, peace and quiet / being left alone.

Do you write to a schedule, eg every day or three times a week, set times, etc or do you write as and when the mood strikes?
At the moment I write on Thursdays and Fridays while my son is at school; in practice, often life stuff gets in the way and I don’t do two full days. If you’re at home apparently sitting about, it’s easy to get asked to run errands. Plus I don’t write nonstop for all that time. There’s a fair amount of staring at the wall, trying to work out a knot in the plot or a motivation, like why the hell would a person do what I’ve said they do, or how do I get this person from this point to the next point and how does all that fit together. With a trilogy (which Crow Moon is the first and Red Witch is the second of) there’s lots of this kind of organisational thinking. Plotting-wise I’m pretty basic and draw it out in a felt tip diagram then make incomprehensible notes on top of it as I go along. Hence a lot of staring at the wall.

Is writing your main source of income, I read lots of articles saying writers make no money, and my readers asked this question a lot! Could you survive on book writing alone?
It’s my secondary source of income. I am, unlike many writers, extremely lucky to get paid at all, but it’s definitely not enough to live on. I work part time at a reading charity 3 days a week which is nice because it means I’m around children’s books all the time and keeping up to date with all the new writers and books.

What are your favourite biscuits?
Clearly, this is an important question. Chocolate biscuits, obviously. I don’t buy them because then I’d eat them. But you can’t go wrong with a Viscount or an Orange Club. ooh posh individually wrapped biscuits, I'll pop round later!

Where do you do most of your writing?
Sitting at the dining table or on my bed with my laptop, but that’s a bad posture position so at the table is better and feels more workmanlike. Then I write in my journal at night in longhand. I like to write at the kitchen table as it's closer to the biscuits

What book are you reading at the moment?
Get Into Trouble by Kelly Link, a new collection of her short stories. She’s an awesome American writer whose stories fall between horror, gothic, humour and literary fiction. My TBR pile like anyone bookish is massive. Next I have Neil Gaiman’s Sandman Overture to read, which is the prequel to his Sandman graphic novel.

If you could genetically cross and animal with a fruit or vegetable what would you choose and why? I'm currently keen on a turnip elephant, though I suspect it would be hard to get into a saucepan with that trunk waving about.
I want to say a cucumber snake, which is in my mind because my friend told me that cats have a primal aversion instinct for snakes, and if you leave a cucumber near to them they go crazy. I keep meaning to do it with my cat. And film it for Facebook, obvs. obviously

If reading and writing were banned on pain of death, what would you do instead?
Protest the totalitarian regime that had banned it? Draw an acerbic political cartoon with no words and poster it all over the neighbourhood, bemoaning the lack of linguistic expression. That’s what I like to think I would do. Also perhaps I’d spend more time playing music. Perhaps I’d take up revolutionary pottery and make subversive nudes. I adore all of these ideas!

If you could bring a dead person back from the dead for one day to have tea and a natter with them, who would you choose and why?
Lets say Janis Joplin. She had a fascinating life at the heart of the San Francisco flower power scene, was a crazily talented woman, and a bit of a sad soul I think. Janis would be cool.

Thank you to Anna for taking part. She has a book currently available and a new one published 10th March. So if you are quick you'll have chance to read one before the other comes out.

CROW MOON: out now:

Danny is a fun-loving 16-year-old looking for a father figure and falling in love with a different girl every day. He certainly doesn't want to follow in his mum's witchy footsteps.
Just as his community is being threatened by gangs intent on finding a lucrative power source to sell to the world, Danny discovers he is stunningly powerful. And when he falls for Saba, a gorgeous but capricious girl sorceress, he thinks maybe the witch thing might not be such a bad idea...
But what cost will Danny pay as, with his community on the brink of war, he finds that love and sorcery are more dangerous than he ever imagined?
Wickedness and passion combine in this coming-of-age adventure.

RED WITCH: Out March 10th 2016
Seventeen, heartbroken, powerful; Melz has run away from home, run away from the safety of the Greenworld. In the cities of the Redworld, Melz discovers she's special, desired. And not just for her magical talents. When Melz meets the young but influential Bran, their attraction is instant and electric. In the Redworld, with Bran by her side, unrestrained by the customs of her former life, Melz knows she can reach her true potential. But the world Bran wants to give Melz is ravaged by war and violence. Oil is running out, and people will do anything to gain control of the remaining resources. Melz may be more powerful than ever, but even great power can be a curse when used against you.

 

Halloween - Safe and Spooky

Just a reminder that Halloween is now more of a children's day of dress up fun more than anything else. I love dressing up for any excuse (as you know) and I've always encouraged DD to join in

Here we are some years ago on Halloween on our way to a party.

With more and more cheap costumes appearing on the market it's easy to assume all are safe. Check before you wear! Fire is a bigger risk than ever at Halloween not just due to trailing mummy bandages and wispy fairy wings, but all those pumpkins with candles in too!

Why not opt for either LED lights in your pumpkins and decorations or glowsticks to remove some risk. And check your costume is fire safe too.

Find more information here http://www.escapade.co.uk/halloween-fire-safety-guide.asp

Have a Happy Halloween.

Escapade – LED Candle Initiative
Having been in the fancy dress business for over 34 years, and as an authorised retailer of some of the largest brands in the world, all Escapade products conform to European safety standards.
Candles are one of the biggest causes of fires in the home - the London Fire Brigade attends around 20 fires a month caused by candles, incense and oil burners. Therefore, safety must come first and be the highest priority this Halloweens season.

“Unlike any other event throughout the year, during Halloween it is traditional to use candles in Jack-O-Lanterns around the door. As part of our fire awareness training we learn that there are three elements to make a fire: oxygen; fuel; and a heat source. We all need to breathe and wear clothing (be it fancy dress costume or a school uniform), but with the use of LED lights we can eliminate the heat source, making it impossible for fire to exist. Halloween should be scary for the right reason; together let’s make it safer for everyone”
- Bhupendra Maisuria, Director at Escapade

  Escapade Pumpkin lights are currently on spooky sale at £1.99 (updated for 2017)

A look back - Sir Terry Pratchett and the Discworld

In 1983 two things happened (well lots of things happened but this blog post is only about two) . Terry Pratchett had a novel published and I bought it. And read it (three, three things happened) I was hooked from the very start. I can’t remember why I chose the book, maybe it was the hilarious cover illustrations, maybe it was because at the time I was 17 and obsessed with Dungeons and Dragons and the fantasy genre, maybe it was on special offer. Whatever God of reading was there he/she/it guided my hand and the rest is … silence, as I read through each book as it was published, there were muffled giggles of course at Terry’s witty jokes. There were gasps of amazement later as the books gained in amazingly satirical insight.

Pleased to have Sir Terry in my house... pic.twitter.com/gE6MGhYLKV
— Tattooed_Mummy (@tattooed_mummy) March 12, 2015

I had (actually still have) a huge crush on Samuel Vimes, it may even be real love as I didn’t feel sad when (spoilers!) he finally met up and settled down with Lady Sybil, I adored her too, with her dragons and sensible shoes, and no nonsense approach to all things.
I love all the books of course but not equally. I favour the Watch series (Nightwatch, of which I have a signed copy is my favourite), tales of daring and adventure with a rag tail band of hapless chaps and a girl or two…and here’s a thing, Terry writes fabulous women characters. They, like all his characters, have complex personas, neither good nor bad, they have secret dreams (Cheery the dwarf for example longs to plait her beard and wear lipstick and maybe a …skirt!) and they have problems to overcome (Angua struggling with a relationship with her ‘monthly troubles’ for example) They are tough, like Lady Sybil and the Witches, forthright and knowledgeable like Susan, frequently busty and lusty too (Do not ask about the tuppeny upright!) They frequently have their own stories, such as Equal Rites, and the Tiffany series for younger readers.

I could write for days about characters, events, jokes and Terry’s genius at combining all of them into a world of pure magic but I don’t need to, you can read them yourself. If you’ve never read one why not use this handy guide to find a starter book and dive in to a new world, a flat one carried on the backs of four elephants who in turn stand atop the great A’tuin the world turtle.

I met Terry Pratchett before we had to call him ‘Sir’ though we probably did anyway, at a discworld fan event in 2007 (see if you can spot me) and again at several others. He was always fabulous to his fans. (who it needs to be said are mostly mad – myself included) He put up with us dressing as his characters, being generally drunk and silly, and expecting him to sign things. He never disappointed. We in turn donated to his favourite charities, bought him gin and tonics, arranged events and continued to be silly. I am proud to have shared a sausage supper with him.

I, along with many fans, cried yesterday to hear of his passing. Much excellent fan fiction has been written of his meeting with Death, one of his brilliant Discworld Characters. There has also been some amazing art created. I can’t help but smile through the tears, so thank you to all that took time to create them.

I leave you with the last tweets from Sir Terry’s twitter account. And I shall continue to imagine him sipping gin and writing, in the other trouser leg of time.

AT LAST, SIR TERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER.
— Terry Pratchett (@terryandrob) March 12, 2015

Terry took Death’s arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night.
— Terry Pratchett (@terryandrob) March 12, 2015

The End.
— Terry Pratchett (@terryandrob) March 12, 2015

And the Plastic Joy award goes to......

Recently on twitter there have been a few tweets that have stuck around in my subconscious. There they lurk and occasionally float the surface, bob for a minute and sink again….so today they all bobbed up at once, like flotsam after a shipwreck, and caused a thought…… this blog post is the result of that thought.


So there are ‘AWARDS’ on blogs, and they are like memes in that you usually have to blog something and then pass on the award. This is a cute idea, it links blogs and introduces you to new people and new blogs. But where do these awards begin? Who creates them?


Well in this case – I do!


This award is the Plastic Joy Award. Now, I wanted to call it the plastic s*x award but guessed that that would attract bots to my (and your!) pages like blood attracts sharks to a shipwreck so…Plastic Joy. It was created in reaction to the picture above, where action man and an unamed myscene doll were caught in the act in my bathroom!


Here’s the thing, if you are awarded the Plastic Joy award you must list 5 fictional characters that ‘you would’ (you know what I’m talking about! Don’t pretend and stop sniggering at the back, I’ll speak to you after class) these should be the fictional character not ‘actors’ who play the characters on film or TV (so no David Tennant!!) but actually fictional characters themselves. You can expand on ‘why’ if you like but you can also just list them. (and leave us to comment and wonder!) Book characters would be easiest as they rely on your imagination more.....

And then, copy the pic to your blog, link back to here and pass the award on to at least 5 people. Let’s give it a whirl


1. Sherlock Holmes

2. Edward Cullen (I’m not proud of this BTW)

3. Worf (or to be fair any Klingon – I’m not even fussy!)

4. Sam Vimes (if you do not know this character run off and read some Terry Pratchett immediately. Guards Guards would be good.)

5. Superman (what’s not to like really!! He can fly too!)

so who get's this award? hmmmm

Josie

Heather, who's interesting blog is here

Geriatric Mummy, who's lovely blog has sadly closed :-(

Mediocre Mum, who's mediocre blog is here

and Hayley, another blog that has closed since this was published.