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Author Chat - Will Macmillan Jones

12/20/2015

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​Come in, Will. Are you sitting comfortably? We’ll soon fix that! Your latest book, Portrait of a Girl, is a horror story. Your first in this genre, The Showing, was based on your own experience, I believe. Would you like to tell us something about them?
 

I always sit comfortably, thank you! Well, except for the times I sneak out of bed to my study at 3 am and forget to put any clothes on first: leather chairs are quite cold at 3am, you know. At least it concentrates the mind (as well as parts of the body!) and I get my inspiration noted down as quickly as possible! Yes, The Showing is based on my childhood experiences in my Grandfather’s house. The book has a great deal of fact in it – so much so that in fact writing it was a hard experience. The book twisted and fought back every step of the way. I even had to keep copies of the file on two separate external memory sticks as the draft kept deleting itself from the laptop’s hard drive overnight. The result was worth it, though, as I’d feel that a lot of the fear I had of that house comes through in the book.
 
Portrait of a Girl is different though. Whilst some of the same characters from The Showing come back out to play, the story itself is entirely fiction. At least, I hope it is: who knows what some of these strange art galleries contain? Whilst writing one of my other fantasy books (Have Frog, Will Travel – book 6 in The Banned Underground collection), I spent a day in Glastonbury doing some research. Whilst in the shops there, I took note of some of the darker side of the things available. Then, online, I came across an image of a painting called ‘Lucy Brydges’. There were some oddities in that portrait, and an idea came into my head. What if…
 
The main characters are back again in The House Next Door, about a demon possessed – no, I’ll keep it under wraps for a bit longer as it isn’t quite frightening enough just yet. Suffice it to say that it’s aimed at a late spring release. With added gore.
 
Oooh, gore! My favourite!
Portrait is released just before Christmas. There’s a bit of a tradition of Christmas ghost stories. Would you like to speculate on why this is?

 
I’m actually a big fan of the ghost stories of M R James. His classic ‘Oh Whistle, and I’ll come to you’ is sometimes quoted as being one of the best ghost stories ever, and has been both rewritten and filmed a number of times. James originally devised his stories to be read aloud at Christmas, at night and in front of a roaring fire, with the wind raging outside. Of course, he picked up on a much older tradition, when our ancient ancestors gathered around their fires to keep out the winter cold, and told stories of the horrors that lurked in the darkness that hung outside the mall circle of firelight, the terrors that waited for them in the wild wood, and so on. Very pagan, very traditional, great fun for all. There’s nothing like sending people to bed terrified of the dark, is there?
 
I saw a version of ‘Oh Whistle’ on telly many years ago. Scared me, I can tell you!
Your earlier works are humorous fantasy and you definitely have a serious sense of humour (can I say that – hell, it’s my blog!). What made you turn to horror?
 

I take my jokes very seriously. So, unfortunately, do others which probably explains why they don’t laugh in the right places. I actually have a stand up comedy routine I sometimes gig, based on the gags I’ve written through The Banned Underground series and it is quite instructive seeing how different audiences laugh at different things. For example, I once told the gag ‘I used to tell my husband to think for himself – until I saw what happened when he did’ to an audience largely made up of middle aged ladies, and not one of them even sniggered. Can’t win them all.
 
It was my experience doing stand up comedy that drew me to Horror, I think. It’s a different way of causing fear and alarm in an audience. Actually, I sometimes tell some of the short flash fiction horror stories when I do some traditional story-telling locally, and they work well as a change. Of course, a lot of traditional stories – like Grimm’s original fairy tales – are very dark and scary, so that is probably an influence too. My girlfriend tells me I have quite a dark imagination, but I’m not sure that she means it in a positive way. During the last storm we had I made up a piece about thin fingers scratching at a window, seeking a way in and she complained it kept her awake for ages. Hope I’ve got that one written down for use somewhere, actually…
 
I have to confess I enjoy writing the suspense. One of my favourite passages in Portrait of a Girl is one in which absolutely nothing happens. But in a very scary way.
 
Sounds like my life story…
You’ve also got a couple of children’s books to your credit, which I have to say, my grandchildren loved – especially the grizzly bits! Do you have any other genres you’re itching to tackle?

 
I’m really glad your grandchildren love the Snort & Wobbles books. I rather hope mine will when they are a little older, too. I have a historical fiction, with a healthy dose of romance, about half planned, too. Maybe it will turn into a bodice-ripper? Although I have to say that if my ex were to be told that I was writing a romance, I would achieve my secret ambition – someone would fall out of their chair laughing. It’s based in the Presceli hills close to where I live, and takes place in pre Roman Britain. That is partly because I’m drawn to that period of pre history, and partly because I’m bone idle and since it is set before written records were the norm, research is a lot easier! There’s another Romance planned in a lot of detail too, called The Last Viking which I do plan to write into draft in the Spring, after I’ve finished writing the climax of the current horror novel (The Curse of Cliffe House) and the next in The Banned Underground series, which is provisionally called Working Title.
 
As you know, I also write quite a lot of flash fiction, and have a small collection planned for re issue soon, and I do write and perform poetry on a regular basis. In fact there is some cross-over here, as much of the poetry can be a bit dark, and so I can be very ecologically sound and recycle it into the horror books.
 
And finally, as you’re a vegetarian, can I ask what you’re having for Christmas dinner?
 
Ha! I’ve been a vegetarian of sorts for over forty years, so I’m used to cooking differently at Christmas. I do eat fish, so the centre piece will be salmon, with plenty of other trimmings.  I’m assured that I can actually cook quite well, and I usually do make an effort at Christmas. This will be my first year without children turning up and demanding to be fed, so I’ll have to be careful with the quantities for once. Maybe not with the chocolate, though…

​Thanks, Will. Good luck with Portrait of a Girl.
You can find Will's Amazon page here with all his book details.


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Author Chat - Jonathan Hill

12/6/2015

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Today I’m delighted to chat to my friend and publisher, Jonathan Hill. Come in, Jonathan. Take a seat. No! That's just an expression. Bring it back and sit down. It's been a while since Pride, your last publication. Why the delay?
 
But it’s such an ornate chair! Yes, it’s been what feels an age since my last book. I’ve had an incredibly busy year. Work - I’m a pharmacist - has been intense and I’ve had the added strains (and delights) of settling into a new apartment. Now settled, I’m thrilled to be releasing another book at last.
 
And your readers are thrilled too. This one, at least.
So the new book. How would you describe the genre?
 
Well, The Anniversary isn’t really like any of the books I’ve published so far. I describe it as a chilling thriller. Its non-linear narrative adds a decidedly nightmarish, almost hallucinatory, quality and I can’t wait to see what readers make of this psychological novella.
 
I'm sure they'll let you know! You're known for the Maureen books - those funny stories of the lady of a certain age with delusions of grandeur. Have you written your last Mo or are there more in the pipeline?
 
I haven’t finished with Maureen. She won’t let me finish with her! I can’t say anything definite yet but there will be more from this special lady. I’m too fond of writing about her to stop now. Watch this space.
 
Yes, she is the woman I might be if I weren’t careful!
Would you say you prefer the funny stuff, like the Maureen novellas, or are you drawn to the dark side, my padawan learner?
 
Tough question. I enjoy writing both and I suppose it just depends on my mood at the time. I do seem to be drawn to the dark side - have you seen my drabbles?! - but writing successful humour can be immensely rewarding.
 
Tell me something about the new book, The Anniversary.
 
It’s told in first person and the character is a bit of a loner, I suppose. He attracts the attention of a work colleague who is rumoured to have murdered her previous partner. And the nightmare just unfolds from there. Be warned, this book has the ability to mess with your head. I performed one of the read-throughs of the book after an alcoholic drink and it freaked me out and left me asking myself what the hell I’d created!
 
I must try reading it after a couple!
I see from Facebook that you've started painting. Is it comparable to writing or does it satisfy a different urge? That's not rude, by the way.
 
I’d never connect rudeness with you, dear. Yes, it’s true I’ve picked up a paintbrush recently. I’ve completed several paintings and found the whole process therapeutic. I think there’s a great deal of overlap with writing and both satisfy the same creative urge in me. Writing has taught me to pay attention to the finest detail of the world in which we live and painting has further enhanced this.
 
Thanks for taking (and returning) my hot seat, Jonathan, and good luck with The Anniversary. You can find Jonathan's work on his Amazon Author page here.

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Author Chat - Jim Webster

12/1/2015

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Hello, Jim. Welcome to my hot seat! There's another issue of that excellent periodical The Port Naain Intelligencer out this week. Can you give us a clue as to what’s in the latest edition?
 
This one is called ‘A Much Arranged Marriage’
In this story Benor is asked to help warn off a blackmailer who appears to be threatening a young girl's chances of marriage. But the deeper he digs, the more dangerous things become.            
If you were writing a Land of the Three Seas tourist guide, what would you tell us about Port Naain?
 
The tourist guide waxes lyrical.
 
 “Sun-kissed Port Naain, the jewel of Partann, cultural capital of the Land of the Three Seas, home of scholars, poets, merchants and fine dining. Enjoy the quaint houses of the Sump, marvel at the architectural wonder that is the Insane Asylum, explore the quaint passages and ginnels of the Warrens.”
 
After reading from Benor Dorfinngil’s guide written for travelling merchants one might gain a somewhat different picture.
 
“Port Naain is situated on the Paraeba Estuary. When the wind is coming from the wrong direction it stinks. When the wind is stronger it’s raining. Much of the city, the Ropewalk, the Docks, is perfectly safe for travellers. The Northern suburbs and Dilbrook; plus the southern suburbs of Saskadil and Roskadil on the south side of the estuary are also salubrious enough. (Although travellers of a squeamish disposition might find tastes a little strong in Dilbrook so make friends with care.)
The Warrens is a seething anthill of human degradation and depravity, do not go there, the locals do eat people. The Sump is less bad, but still not a place where the innocent should lightly wander abroad on their own.”
 
It's the way he tells 'em! Your wonderful and resourceful character, Benor Dorfinngil, first appeared as a gentleman of mature years. What was it about him that made you want to tell these prequel stories?
 
I have travelled with Benor for a number of years and we get along well and I know how he thinks and how he will react. The problem is, in the last book he featured in, Dead Man Riding East, he ended up happily married with one child and another probably on the way. This isn’t conducive to the sort of adventuring he did get up to. I wondered about it and realised that there was a huge amount of Benor’s story not told. The ‘Cartographer’s Apprentice’ merely picked up on throw-away lines about his past in the other books. I enjoyed writing it and people enjoyed reading it so I decided that there was time for Benor to spend a year or two exploring Port Naain, ‘Because it was there.’ It’s been great fun, Benor is still Benor, perhaps cockier because he’s younger, but then he might wear his heart on his sleeve more as well.
 
Also at some point I full intend to go back to writing about Benor’s later adventures. His lady wife is a character worth exploring in her own right and I can see myself having an awful lot of fun letting them out to play together.
 
You do write excellent female characters. You also write science fiction as well as fantasy. What's your own favourite genre to read?
 
Here I hold up my hands and confess. I read far more non-fiction than I do fiction. The vast majority of my library is history and most of it about the world pre-1400AD. 
I like to know how things work, how they hang together and how one situation leads into another. I like to think this is one reason why my Land of the Three Seas works so well.
But having dodged your question, I’ll dodge it again. I’m a great lover of the work of the late, great, Jack Vance. He wrote Fantasy and Science Fiction and wasn’t ashamed to set books on that broad fuzzy borderland between the two genres. So for me there is really only one genre. At one end is the very hard SF, seriously technical, and at the other end there’s the really high fantasy, probably with elves and hobbitsess and magic rings. I can enjoy books at both extremes.
And in the middle there is an ocean of fabulous books and I’m not going to let arbitrary labels stop me enjoying them.
 
And finally, the place you have created for Benor and his friends to live out their adventures is credible and very compelling to read about. Would you personally like to live there? Why, or maybe, why not?
 
Certainly I could live quite happily in the Land of the Three Seas. Admittedly some areas are perhaps less pleasant than others but I think I could cheerfully spend years wandering round seeing what the places I created were actually like. Probably under an assumed name, just in case people felt that I was in any way to blame.
As a rule I think writers ought to be able to live in their creations. After all, one day we might have to.

Now there's a thought! thanks Jim. You can find Jim's latest story, A Much Arranged Marriage, on his amazon author page here.


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    Author

    Kath Middleton, author of Ravenfold
    Message in a Bottle
    Top Banana
    Long Spoon
    Souls disturbed
    Stir-up Sunday
    Beneath the Ink
    The Novice's Demon
    The Flesh of Trees
    The Sundowners
    The Angel Monument Muriel's Bear
    Tales from Daggy Bottom Becca.
    ​Through His Eyes
    ​Contributor to Beyond 100 Drabbles
    ​Criminal Shorts
    ​Part-author of Is it Her?



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