It’s one day until
Journeys comes out, and I’ve been joined by Anna Dickinson,
one of the fantasy anthology’s contributors (alongside myself).
1. Could you tell us
the title and a one or two sentence premise of your story in
Journeys?
"Tomas
and the Virgin"
A
boy and his father set out to capture the vanishingly rare Golden
Roc. The hunt ought to be routine-- Tomas and his father are
professionals, after all -- but the virgin they're using as bait just
won't do what she's told.
2.
When writing short stories for anthologies, do you prefer to have
them be stand-alone or tied into your other works’ worlds?
Stand-alone.
Then I can go wherever I like with them.
3.
Over the time you’ve been writing, have you changed the way you do
things, whether streamlining the process or moving from spontaneity
to planning, or vice versa?
My
first foray into writing was totally unplanned, and took me forever
to finish (actually, it still might not be completely finished -- I
keep meaning to go back to it). Since then, I've tried to have a
general idea of where I'm going, although that's not always
where I end up.
I
can't plan things out in detail because it sucks all the joy out of
the writing process for me. If I get stuck, I'll use planning to work
out what I'm doing, especially the conflict diagrams from Storyteller
Tools by Harold Page.
4.
Besides fantasy, the genre of Journeys, do you write in other genres
or in differing styles (grimdark, high fantasy etc)?
I
mainly write YA contemporary fantasy, with mobile phones and buses
and supermarkets, so Journeys was a bit of a detour from my comfort
zone. I really enjoyed it, and now I'm working on a Regency romance
(with magic!) to see what it's like to write about another historical
period. Unfortunately, although I intended the romance to be about
muslin and ringlets, it's turning quite dark.
5.
What are your inspirations? Are they mostly historical/literary, and
how much do other modern writers influence you?
I
find this a really hard question to answer. There are authors I love
and would give an unspecified number of fingers (or toes) to write
like: Diana Wynne Jones. Holly Black, Patricia McKillip, for example,
but inspiration is a slippery thing, and ideas tend to just appear.
6.
If readers enjoy Tomas and the
Virgin which of your
other works would you recommend they try?
I
don't have much else published yet, but if people like Tomas, they'd
perhaps also like Lara, the heroine of THE BOY BY THE LAKE in
Woodbridge Press's THE HAUNTING OF LAKE MANOR HOTEL. That story's
full of bone-filled lakes and man-eating trees. There's kissing, too.
[Excellent recommendation, as the authors of that anthology are
renowned for their talent and attractiveness. Also, check my story in
it too – TW].
7.
Beyond your own work, what do you like to read?
All
sorts of things. The authors I mentioned above, fantasy, YA, classics
(especially Austen and Dickens). I'm currently reading THE GODDESS
PROJECT by Bryan Wigmore and chewing my nails off in envy; I just
finished THE CALL by Peadar O Guilin (I'm still a bit traumatised). I
loved Melina Marchetta's fantasy series, I have a secret enthusiasm
for Tessa Dare's comic Regency Romance, and when Nathan sent us the
prompt, I started re-reading The Belgariad (I remembered the series
as being mostly journey, which it is).
8.
In between answering inane questions and writing, how do you like to
unwind?
Unwind,
you say? When I'm not writing or reading or faffing around on social
media pretending to have opinions on things I don't know about I'm
responding to the cries of "Muuuuuuum!" when my kids can't
find their socks/ a glass of water/ a school book.
Thanks,
Anna. You can find out more about Anna and her writing here:
Thaddeus
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