Category: author interviews

Being a writer (2)

A while ago I wrote a post about identity and ‘coming out’ as a writer – of confidently owning the label. I think the universe is telling me it is OK to feel confident because, as a writer, things are going really well. I am thrilled to have several exciting projects on the go at the moment with more in the pipeline.

Hive North

I am honoured and grateful to announce that my play ‘Kray to Crone’, after a short-listing process involving over 150 scripts, has been chosen to be in the final 10 scripts to be showcased by Hive North Theatre Company.

A professional cast will perform the ten plays chosen at the Lowry Theatre Salford Quays, Manchester 14th and 15th July 2023. Tickets are available at this link.

The showcase is an important platform for LGBTQ+ voices and the selection ‘covers a multifaceted portrayal of the LGBTQ+ experience’. My play is in absolutely astounding company – Rav Bansal, KT Miles, Mitesh Soni, Izzy Campbell, Saskia Pay, Connor Cooper, Roo Pilkington , Rian Craske , and Luke Elliot. I feel thrilled to be among such an awesomely talented group. I can’t wait to see the production.

Scarborough Love Stories

Arcade Arts, a charitable community producing company, was commissioned by Scarborough Borough Council to create a piece of work celebrating the beautiful South Cliff Gardens. Arcade has worked with local communities gathering true love stories inspired by the gardens. They had over 100 submissions. The production draws together the stories into five chapters told by storytellers and an ensemble cast, accompanied by orchestral music created by Orchestras Live and Sinfonia Viva. I am one of the story writers and tellers. Rehearsals are going strong at the time of writing this blog and it is clear the digital audio trail is going to be utterly magical. The final recording will be available as a digital stream to experience in the Gardens from 24th July and will run to the end of August.

Book Launch for ‘Everyday Wendy’

Are we still blaming the pandemic for stuff? I think we are. The book launch for my novel ‘Everyday Wendy’ didn’t happen because the pandemic threw everything into chaos for such a long time that book launches, in all honesty, were not a priority. My book is selling well despite that but Pen to Print recently contacted me and suggested we go ahead with an official launch. Why not!  So, it will be an online event and if anyone wants to be sent a link, please get in touch. I would love for you to be there! Jacqueline Gabbitas, wonderful author and poet will chair the event that Pen to Print will host. The on-line launch for “Everyday Wendy’ will be on 13th July 2023.

Finally.. for now at least…

I am being interviewed by the rather marvellous, multi-talented Wolfy O’Hare for radio in a few days, which will be fun. I will post the date for that to be broadcast as soon as I have it. 

Author Interviews – a transactional process

I’ve recently been interviewed twice. The first was by Oaky for her ‘tell me about your book‘ podcast. The second was for Write On!

For written interviews such as the one I did for Write On! I was given the questions in written form. Write On! Magazine, first published in June 2019, is a quarterly magazine published by Pen to Print, encouraging writers to contribute and share skills so it should be no surprise that the questions were well thought out with a mix allowing for promotion of my work, something about inspiration and, space for discussion of process (isn’t it funny how as writers are all interested in each other’s writing process!).

For the telephone interview with Oaky (which you can hear at the highlighted link). I was just given a general invitation to ‘chat about’ my most recent novel Everyday Wendy. Oaky is in Texas and I am in the UK, so our first challenge was finding a good time to talk and I am afraid Oaky got the poor end of the bargain, having to start the interview very early in her day. She was so friendly and fortunately gave no indication that she minded her early start. I think we could have talked for hours. I am really happy with the interview.

A lot to think about….

It is a funny thing being interviewed and there is a lot to think about: Privacy for example—are we comfortable with personal disclosures relating to content, story drivers, or our even our location etc. Authenticity—are we presenting ourselves or some image of our authorly-self our friends would not recognise? Personally, I am finely tuned to spot inauthenticity, and it is guaranteed to put me off, so aiming for presenting authentically is important to me. What is the message or point—do I want to just sell my book or say something about why I think the story will have resonance for the reader? Of course, ‘making a great impression’ is important too. I guess most of us have pondered on these things for job interviews but author interviews are not so much about selling oneself as a great fit for a job role, as in selling a product—specifically ones’ book or books but it is critical to remember that is not all it is. Bear in mind the interviewer’s ‘job’ too—they might generously present the opportunity for authors to promote our work, but they have their own reasons to be interviewing in the first place — selling their product. Being interviewed is mutually transactional. If they are giving their time to help us, preparation to facilitate their interview process is just as important.

I’ve reflected on all these points since each interview—did I sufficiently think each through enough? Did I get the balance right? I think I probably wasn’t as concise as I could have been in the recorded interview. I might have given more attention to ‘sound bites’—short pithy potential headline take-aways to hook both reader or listener. Mostly though, what I learned is that interviews are fun. I hope enjoyment of the process came across in both these interviews and by the way, Write on! and ‘Tell me about your book’—thanks so much for the opportunity to be interviewed. I am grateful.