Interview With Richard Dee

October 11, 2024 ~ ChanAtkins ~ 2 Comments

Read on for an exclusive interview with author Richard Dee!

1. First of all, for anyone that doesn’t know about you please can you provide a short introduction. Where are you from, what do you write, and how long have you been writing? (As well as any other info you feel relevant)

Hi, everyone. It’s great to be here and have the chance to talk about my writing life. I’m a native of Brixham in South Devon. I left as a teenager and I’m happy to say that I’ve finally managed to return to live here again in retirement.

I never wrote much when I was younger, I hated putting pen to paper and received little encouragement at school. In fact, I was told that I was incapable of writing anything interesting. I spent a lot of my life at sea, where I had to write official paperwork as well as keeping in touch with family by letter (This was in the days before satellite communications and email). I found the letter writing hard, I saw the wonders of the deep and struggled to describe them.

Then, out of the blue, I had a dream. It kept repeating, night after night. I thought that I was going crazy, and in desperation, I wrote down as much of it as I could remember, hoping that would clear it from my head. To my surprise, it worked. Then I had another dream, which I realised was connected to the first. So, I wrote that down too. The dreams kept coming, and I kept writing. In 2013, my first novel, Freefall, was born.

An injury to my shoulder and the chance discovery of NaNoWriMo in 2014 resulted in my second novel, Ribbonworld.

I’ve been writing ever since.

2. You are known for your ability to create complex, detailed worlds. How do you come up with your ideas in terms of locations, technology, etc?

In my life, I’ve travelled to many different places. At a time before globalization, before the fall of the Berlin Wall, everywhere was totally different to everywhere else. Contacting home was difficult. I think visiting such places gave me insight and ideas for diverse locations and people, even though I never knew it at the time. And being on a ship with a small crew is great for learning about human behaviour.

My mind must have stored it all up, ready for the moment when I started getting the dreams. All I’ve done is move everything out into space and made up some science to accompany it.

As for the technical accuracy of the worlds I build, I’m a great believer in the saying, attributed to Isaac Asimov. “Nothing has to be true but everything has to sound true.”

To me, this means taking the science we have today and expanding it into a future or an alternative reality that sounds plausible and appears to function.

I’m also a bit of a geek, I love science and avidly read about the latest discoveries and technology. As I’m digesting it, I’m looking for somewhere that I can use it. Or paying attention to what it sparks in my head.

When you investigate, it’s surprising how much of what we might need to survive on another planet we already possess. All we require is a place to go and a way of getting there. And if history has taught us anything, it’s that humanity, for all its faults, always finds a way of getting what it wants.

I try not to fall into the trap of creating static universes, filled with pointless wonders that have no real use (apart from the ornamental) or basis in possibility. My worlds are functional, with everything having a purpose, which I think helps the reader to relate to them. And they evolve and develop as stories and series progress.

3. What is it about Sci-Fi that you enjoy so much? How did you first come to love the genre?

I grew up on 1950s Sci-fi, either through the pulp magazines swapped at school or gifted by cousins. Then there were the old movies on our black and white T.V., with titles like The Day the Earth Stood Still, This Island Earth or Creature from the Black Lagoon. As well as the novels of such people as Asimov, Clarke and Bradbury, which I read avidly.

As a child of the 1950s, my early years were dominated by space. Telstar (great song, too), the first manned spaceflights, Gemini, Apollo and all the excitement of a new frontier that seemed to be growing as I did. It was a time when anything seemed possible.

I remember watching the first-ever episode of Dr Who and wondering if the police box I’d seen in Paignton could be the TARDIS, which gave me a shiver.

I loved the idea of heading out into the unknown (maybe that’s why I went to sea?) and discovering what was there. And I loved the way Sci-fi portrayed the future, with people who weren’t that different from us. They had all our good bits, as well as our vices, carried across time and space to a new home.

And Aliens, there was a whole new topic for speculation.

4. What can readers of your books expect? What sets you apart in the genre?

As well as a good story and a realistic setting, I want my stories to be accessible. Written in such a way that the science doesn’t put people off by being more important than the fiction.

I like to drop you into what you think is a familiar situation and, just when you’re getting comfortable, give it a twist.

A review of one of my books said that I wrote Sci-fi for people who don’t like Sci-fi. I liked the sound of that, because it meant that the world I’d created for my character’s adventures was functioning properly. After all, most of us don’t take much notice of the science in today’s world. We’re aware that it exists and we use it but it compliments, rather than overwhelms the story of our lives.

I’m not into writing about whatever seems to be the latest trend. What I try to do is to mix genres and tropes a little, just to see what happens.

5. Aside from writing, you’re an avid cook. But what are the key ingredients for cooking up a believable sci-fi world?

I love cooking, largely because I spent years on ships, with no choice over what I ate. Sure, it was all done for me, but it’s not the same. Some of it was gourmet quality, and some was… well, let’s not go there.

I think the same sort of idea applies to creating a world. Sometimes it’s better if it’s not all done for you. In the same way that Alfred Hitchcock worked, I think that suggestion is always better than giving the reader everything. Let their imagination help you.

To continue the analogy. You need the right basics before you can begin, everything must be set up to function. You start with one or two ingredients and add more as time goes on. Pay attention and keep stirring, don’t let things stick or burn. Very often, the last thing you put into a dish elevates it. Especially if it’s an ingredient nobody expected.

And when you’re serving, the first bite is always with the eye. So cover design is important, too.

6. One of your most notable series follows the character of Andorra Pett. How did she come into being and what can you tell us about this series?

Andorra Pett is the result of a bet. What’s more, she was only ever intended to be a short story. In 2016, my wife was reading one of those “Cupcake Café on the Beach” type stories. This was after I had published a couple of books and was wondering what I might do next.

“I bet you couldn’t write a female lead character,” she said.

I thought about it, I had a wife and three daughters, they all had strong characters. Their lives had given me plenty of heart-stopping moments, good, bad and downright hilarious. Surely, I could think of something?

My brain went to work. Andorra Pett was the result. I took the theme of my wife’s book and moved it into space. Andora was getting away from a cheating boyfriend, in a time not too far from now. She ended up on a space station orbiting Saturn, where they were mining the rocks in the rings for rare minerals. There she took on the lease of a derelict café (There’s the food thing again). And mayhem ensued.

Andorra’s an amalgamation of the ladies in my life, although which part of her comes from each is a closely guarded secret. She’s accident-prone, can be a bit dozy at times, but above it all, she’s loyal, lovable and tenacious. And a lot cleverer than she thinks.

Like all good amateur detectives, she had a sidekick. Hers is Cy, her best friend. He was bored with his life, so he tagged along for the adventure and to keep her out of trouble. When they discovered a body in the café, she had to turn detective and try to avoid becoming the next victim, all while learning to live in a new environment.

When I finished writing the first story, I just kept going. Before I knew it, I had written a second.

People started to read them and asked me for more. I’m now writing her sixth full-length story, there are also a couple of short tales available in various places. As well as on the space station, Andorra has had adventures on Mars (twice) back on Earth, on an interstellar cruise liner and on the Moon.

I have no idea what else she might get up to. But I have started writing about the exploits of her great-granddaughter, Faye Masters.

7. You have a very interesting background in terms of your career. What can you tell us about this and how has it affected your writing?

I failed all my O Levels in 1974 and went to work in a supermarket. I didn’t enjoy school, I had no idea what I was going to do but I wanted to travel. One of the only teachers who had helped me persuaded me to retake my exams and I applied for a job as an apprentice Navigator with P & O Shipping Company The second time around, I passed enough subjects to get the job and joined my first ship in 1975.

Time on ships was mixed with time at college. I passed my Second Mate’s Certificate of Competency in 1978. My First Mate’s followed in 1982 and I became a Master Mariner in 1986. I also obtained a B.Sc. in Nautical Science.

While all this was going on, I got married and started a family. I got fed up with four or five-month trips away from them and changed track, while keeping involved in shipping. I was a Marine Insurance surveyor for a while, a lock keeper and an assistant Harbor Master at the Thames Barrier. In 1994, I was head-hunted to train as a ship’s pilot for the River Thames. I did this until a shoulder injury forced early retirement in 2015. I used to pilot ships through the Thames Estuary, Tower Bridge, the Thames Barrier and even the wilds of Barking Creek. Travelling and meeting people from different cultures gave me a wealth of stories, which I’m gradually reworking into my writing.

8. You have many books out there, where should a new reader start? Do you have a recommended reading order? Are your series and stand-alones interconnected at all? Tell us everything!

That’s a tricky question. Because of the random nature of the ideas I get, my writing isn’t confined to a single genre. With over twenty books to choose from, in several series as well as stand-alone, there’s a real mixture. And they don’t all conform to genre stereotypes, as I said before I do like to mix things up a little. Once we have settled the Galaxy, there will be as many settings as you could possibly want and not all of them will be aware of the others. After all, there are plenty of planets to go around. They might be hundreds of light years or centuries apart. And that’s before you get to the alternative realities.

Most of my work is broadly Sci-fi, I guess you’d call it space opera, stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things, in a futuristic setting. There are corporate conspiracies, tales of space traders scratching a living on the edge, good guys and bad, as well as some who could be both. Many are set in the same universe, at different times and places. After all, once you’ve created a universe, it seems a waste not to use it more than once.

Then there are the Andorra Pett mysteries, which are a cross between Agatha Raisin and Miss Marple, in space. These are set in the near future, so are a lot more recognizable.

I’ve also written Steampunk. These are adventures set in a Victorian-style alternative universe, there’s no oil or electricity, everything runs on Steam or Clockwork.

Then there are my stand-alone novels. In them, I explore subjects like reincarnation, disability, science on the edge, revenge, extreme survival, mafia-style gang warfare and much more. I’ve also written a sword and sorcery fantasy adventure and a textbook on Worldbuilding. If that wasn’t enough, I have published over 200 short stories, Drabbles and Flash Fiction pieces on Medium.

For Sci-fi, Ribbonworld or Myra are good places to start. I also have a free prequel to Ribbonworld. Called The Lost Princess, it’s available via my website.

Andorra Pett’s first adventure is Andorra Pett and the Oort Cloud Café.

Steampunk is in two series, both set in the same world, at different times. The first stories are The Rocks of Aserol or The Sensaurum and the Lexis, respectively.

My stand-alone stories are,

Life and Other Dreams. The question is simple. Where do your dreams take you?
We Are Saul. Second chances come with a price.
I Remember Everything. Ian Gisbon died. His soul moved on. Now it wants revenge.
The Syk’m. Everyone said they were monsters. Then they asked for our help.
The Hitman and the Thief. It was one last job for the hitman, what could possibly go wrong?
Survive. The tale of Ballantyne Alysom.Lost in space. That’s the good news!
Where’s Lizzie? A missing child, a family full of secrets.

9. How did you first fall in love with writing? And how do you manage to write so fast? What keeps you so motivated!?

As I said before, I hated writing, until I had the dream. It’s almost as if there is someone out there pushing my pen. I see a film of the story, on a screen in my head and write down what happens. I can pause, rewind and change the camera position to make sure that I get it all. But I can never fast-forward, so what happens is as much of a surprise to me as it is to the reader.

Writing has become a compulsion. I’m on the autistic spectrum so once I get an idea, I just have to keep going and can become very single-minded about it. I try to write 2000 words a day, every day, it’s surprising how quickly they add up.

As long as the stories keep appearing, I’ll keep writing them down, after all, it might end tomorrow.

10. Finally, please tell us about your latest release! What is it called? Where can we find it? And what can we expect next from the world of Richard Dee?

My last release was The Adventures of Kalyn Deere, Bounty Hunter, a project that I’d been working on for some time. It’s a series of short stories, connected with an overriding arc, about a woman who is forced into a life she always wanted but didn’t expect it to happen the way it did. It’s a real learning curve for her.

What’s next? I have no idea. I have at least ten half-finished stories, some may become novels, others might just be short works. I have no clue what new ideas I’ll see next. If past performance is anything to go by, I’ll have several more before I get any of my works in progress done.

I’m attempting NaNoWriMo this year, my tenth go at the challenge. I’ll be writing Andorra Pett Meets Her Match, unless something more interesting pops up. My editor is booked for December 1^st, which should concentrate my mind.

All of my books are available on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback formats, just search Richard Dee. You can find more about me on my website, https://richarddeescifi.co.uk/

Also on the site is my blog, which keeps you up to date with my writing life.

My work on Medium is at https://medium.com/@richarddockett

Thank you for reading. If you have any questions, please get in touch.

Thank you for joining us today, Richard!

Interview With Kate Rigby

October 4, 2024 ~ ChanAtkins ~ 3 Comments

Read on for an exclusive interview with award-winning author, Kate Rigby!

1. First of all, for anyone that doesn’t know about you please can you provide a short introduction. Where are you from, what do you write and how long have you been writing? (As well as any other info you feel relevant).

Thank you. It’s a real pleasure to be interviewed and I’m very thrilled to be part of the Chasing Driftwood Collective. I was born in Crosby, Liverpool and now live in South Devon. I’ve also lived in Cirencester, Bournemouth and Wimborne. I started writing my first novel at the age of 19. My mum was writing a novel and going to a writers’ group when I was about 17. I had an idea for a book so I was able to pick her brains. I don’t know if I’d have started so young if it wasn’t for her as, unlike today, not many people wrote books in those days. Or if they did they didn’t shout about it! But it took me five years to write my first novel, now called Did You Whisper Back? I sent it out to several places and then rewrote it years later with the help of a Southern Arts bursary. It was picked up by an agent but not placed with a publisher. All told, I have been writing for over (coughs an indecipherable figure into hand!) years. I have mainly written novels but also some non fiction, short stories, flash fiction and poetry. In fact, I’m writing a lot more shorter stuff lately.

2. You are known for your hard-hitting and gritty fiction, which is unapologetic in its presentation of difficult themes. What is it about writing these kinds of books you enjoy?

I’ve mostly started with the characters, who are usually troubled in some way or in some sort of challenging situation. This often means the themes will also be thorny and hard-hitting: someone struggling with disability, bullying, child abuse, drug addiction, mental health issues and so forth, as well as the normal pains of growing up, love triangles, sexual exploration, family problems or societal conflicts. It’s satisfying as well as challenging to put my characters through difficulties they need to overcome although I don’t go in for neatened off endings. Often I leave them open-ended. I think it’s important not to shy away from difficult themes but to tackle them. My novels tend to be predominantly character-driven and a bit niche. They’re also what’s known as lit fic in the sense that they’re a bit more experimental with viewpoint, style, structure and so forth which is the kind of book I also enjoy reading.

3. One of your most notable novels, Down the Tubes, deals specifically with substance abuse. What is it about this book in particular you feel sets you apart as a writer, and how did your previous career aid with this?

Working in this field for years left a lasting impression. I met so many traumatized characters who’d experienced devastating abuse in childhood. Michael, the main character in Down The Tubes, wasn’t based on one particular character but he was typical of some of the people I came into regular contact with through my work or heard about via my fellow workers. Of course, I was able to weave the theme of working in the addictions field into the book too and add a dramatic element by having Michael’s mother applying for admin work in this field. This meant she would uncover shocking truths about her missing son.

4. Down the Tubes continues with a follow up novel, The Colour of Wednesday. What can readers expect from this sequel and how long had it been between publishing the first and second novel in the duology?

Those who read Down The Tubes mentioned they wanted to know what happened next but I never intended to write a sequel! It just suddenly came to me about ten years ago what Michael’s story was two decades on from that novel, particularly in relation to the death of a family member, which played out in real time. I don’t want to say too much about the plot but the death is the catalyst for all those unresolved past issues and a return to addiction and self-destruction. Addiction is so often a lifelong battle. There are more relationship and family strains as his past comes back to haunt him and new revelations come to light. With the help of a new friend, Michael hopes to get his life back on track again. The Colour Of Wednesday explores the dark interior world of grief and past pain, while looking toward a redemptive world of hope and self-discovery. It was nearly twenty years between writing Down The Tubes and The Colour Of Wednesday, although Down The Tubes has had many rewrites since I first penned it!

5. You’re very vocal online about your experience with neurodiversity. What can you tell us about your experience and how this plays into your life as a writer?

Yes, I’ve been writing for over forty years and yet was only diagnosed as Audhd (both autism and ADHD) in 2022 so I was very late diagnosed. It just didn’t occur to me that being involved in the creative arts and also being neurodivergent is such a common thing! That compunction and compulsion to create; that hyperfocusing on your special interest – it should have been a giveaway but it wasn’t. This also links into what’s known as ‘maladaptive daydreaming’ (though I prefer not to use the word maladaptive). I did a video on this with my sister as we both used to spend hours inventing characters and acting them out from childhood. Most people who engage in this tend to do it on their own – probably in the absence of having a fellow daydreamer! Obviously, I also spent a lot of time doing it as a solitary thing too eg during lessons at school or walking to and from school or work. I lived much more inside my head than outside and writing became a channel and outlet for this too. But so many women are getting a late diagnosis now because our understanding of neurodiversity – autism, ADHD and other forms such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, bipolar etc – has massively evolved in the last ten years or so. Prior to that, and especially for women who grew up in my era, it was something that was only thought to affect young boys, or some male adults as in Rain Man. Women and girls also have gone under the radar because of their greater tendency to mask and a greater pressure for them to ‘fit in’ socially. But the more women and girls share their experiences the more awareness is raised and common misconceptions challenged. This is partly why I have embraced my diagnosis by starting my own videos on YouTube and TikTok and sometimes with an accompanying written blog which I have called Authism (autistic author). I realised there are so many areas to explore as an autistic author: like reading processing speed, plotting a novel, the addictive nature of writing itself and so on, as well as the non-authorial topics. So much has been a revelation to me.

6. In addition to the above, are any of your characters neurodiverse? And if so, was this intentional at the time or something you’ve discovered emerged organically later?

That’s very interesting because that was another reason I began my videos and have done some on that very subject. For instance, Helen in Fruit Woman finds it hard to concentrate on the world around her and has always lived in a bit of a fantasy world with her sister Cathy. This has been a way of coping with the pressing demands of the real world. People remarked on Helen being like a teenager rather than someone of twenty-seven. Many autistics much older than Helen are just as child-like and young for their age! Helen is naive and doesn’t always see danger. At their old Devon holiday haunt—Myrtle Cottages—Helen’s best friend Bella accuses her of being ‘deliberately obtuse’, unable to believe she could be so clueless. But Helen tends to take people at face value. She is ultra sensitive and feels things more intensely than most of her contemporaries. As children, she and Cathy didn’t always understand the social rules. It was hard for them to fit in and they were therefore susceptible to bullying.

I did another video and blog about Carrie in The Other Side Of Carrie Cornish who is hugely affected by neighbour noise. Here’s an excerpt from that blog:

“There’s no doubt in my mind now that Carrie is autistic but when I began writing it in the noughties I had no idea. But this books is semi autobiographical. I couldn’t finish it at the time as it was too close to my own experiences so I rewrote it some years later. But you’ll find no mention of autism in the book at all. Carrie does however mention her anxiety, her panic attacks, her social anxiety and agoraphobia. She withdraws into her fantasy world with her alter-ego—Seroxat Sid. We also see that she suffers with noise and light sensitivity and other sensory overload and trichotillomania (hair-pulling) though she doesn’t refer to it by name. She refers to trichotillomania or trich as a guilty secret. I didn’t know for years that this is what’s known as a ‘stim’ (or self-stimulation) nor that it’s a very common stress-buster in autistics.”

There are other characters I want to highlight in future videos. But in answer to your question it definitely wasn’t intentional! I can only observe neurodiversity in my characters retrospectively.

7. Being a writer, especially indie, you are expected to do anything and everything for your books… Including marketing! As a writer who has embraced TikTok, how are you finding it and what advice do you have for others?

Like most of us indies I loathe marketing with a vengeance! We just want to get on with the fun stuff right? 😊 But it’s one of those necessary evils. I did think doing videos and blogs, combining content of interest to fellow audhders with my own writing would be a novel approach (no pun intended!) But there are so many other aspects to my own autistic journey that it’s not always easy to limit it to writing so I have branched out a bit. I know TikTok does have a shop but I’ve not tried selling on there yet so I can’t offer any advice there, I’m afraid. I’ve had more engagement on YouTube, if I’m honest. I think it’s a very different demographic there and people tend to subscribe to your channel because they’re interested and watch the whole video. The TikTok analytics show that most people only watch a couple of seconds before moving on to the next one. It’s very fleeting and fast moving on TikTok, I guess, with lots of competing content (not to mention flashing and sensory stimulation – an audhders nightmare!) There are a few people I follow on there and vice versa. But I can only deal with it in small doses.

I also set up a Facebook group for autistic book lovers: readers and writers. Originally I had assumed that voracious readers who can’t get enough books to read, and prolific authors who are always needing more readers for their books, would be a match made in heaven. But it hasn’t quite panned out like that yet. Still, as with any group there are a few regular engagers and hopefully a small community building. There is also a spin-off Facebook page, too, for books by or about autistics.

8. One of your books, Fall of the Flamingo Circus, was first published in the late 80s. What can you tell us about this book’s journey? Do you remember what first sparked the idea? And how was the publishing process? Tell us everything!

I do indeed remember what sparked the book – this was actually my second novel. But I invented this character Donna in 1977 at the time of punk and she just took off (with the help of my co-creator sister who also invented a male punk character at the time. He was called Laurence, so Lauren seemed a perfect choice of name – a kind of amalgamation of the two, if you like!)

I only recently brought the book back out into paperback after all these years but with a new introduction, charting some of the book’s history. I originally submitted it to a small press – the Malvern Publishing Company – who snapped it up in 1988 but they only published hardback books. Acceptance was so thrilling as well as scary! I felt on cloud nine for a few weeks, pinching myself every so often. This didn’t happen to people like me, surely?! I’d had four years of sending out my first novel. Malvern negotiated paperback rights for me and managed to get me a review in The Times. Fall Of The Flamingo Circus was then published by Allison & Busby in 1990 and US hardback in the same year (Villard). There was no Print on Demand (POD) back then, so the UK paperback was ‘remaindered’ after about 18 months having sold about 2000 copies which was sort of average, I gathered. But no great shakes.

I had attempted to get Flamingo Circus back into print with a traditional publisher but once I went ‘indie’, I prioritized those books of mine that had never been in print. It was enough for me just to get Flamingo Circus into e-format in 2012 because I had no electronic copy. I found some software on my computer called Optical Character Recognition (OCR), and that’s how I did it, page by page. Once in digital format, it’s a cinch to go from there to print. It was just a question of finding the time.

When I came to put it out in print again, thirty years on, I wondered whether I should now rewrite it in the way I originally should have. My character, Donna, was a singer in a punk band called D.K. and the Dildos 😃 (DK being her initials). She wrote some songs and the band also made some records but I guess I didn’t know much about the logistics of that. This is the main change I would have made. She was a ballsy character wanting to be at the forefront. I would probably include her original details, birth date, sibling names and so forth. She was from Hull but I knew nothing about the place. As mentioned, she ‘hung out’ with some of my sister’s invented characters who some of the book’s characters were based on. Tramp was based on Laurence; Alec on Adrian and so on. But these characters were so real to us that it would have felt like libel! But the characters of the book have taken on their own lives and the spirit of Donna is completely in Lauren.

I would have perhaps included more music too. That’s perfectly OK nowadays, whereas back then it was less the thing, maybe…

Some of the language used is from its time but may not be acceptable today.

9. Writing has been part of your life for so long, what keeps you so inspired to keep putting pen to paper? Is it something that comes easy to you from initial idea to final concept? Or is it a longer process? Are you a plotter or and pantster when it comes to fiction? Or both!?

I think it comes back to the fact that I need to write, which I know many other authors will understand. It is a compulsive thing, which becomes second nature. You hear a song which triggers a memory, observe something in nature or in your environment, hear about someone’s experience on the radio, or recall a conversation or turn of phrase. I think when you’ve been writing for so long you have a glut of half-formed ideas and notebooks, some of which become fully fledged novels, others may be used in shorter pieces. Others are still waiting for the right story. Sometimes they are small cameos which lend themselves to flash fiction. Once I have an idea, I usually like to see it through. The idea or concept isn’t difficult but putting the flesh on the bones and working out subplots is much more challenging. I usually sketch out a plot which evolves as I go along but the freedom of pantsing suits my way of writing. So I think I’m a bit of a planster!

I can sometimes get distracted by too many subplots, with an inability to see the wood for the trees. This also relates back to my executive function challenges!

This is, maybe, why I like to write slice-of-life or stream of consciousness fiction where plot is looser and I can make use of flashback and less linear sequences. Luckily this is de rigueur in a lot contemporary or literary fiction.

10. Finally, like so many others, I am on tenterhooks to find out what is coming next! What can you tell us about any upcoming projects you have (writing or otherwise!)

Thank you! Well, I’ve been trying to write memoirs for about three years and had the idea around 2016. It’s the longest thing I’ve written and it will need massive shaping and possibly being made into several books. I can’t wait to get to the end of this epic first draft and get to work with sharp lopping sheers! It’s far too long and unwieldy as is. The trouble is, I have kept a regular diary since late summer 1975, and so I get lost in rereading them and making notes. I don’t want this to be too chronological if I can help it but I have to go through the dairies chronologically. I’m at last up to 2020. In a way it was easiest (and most satisfying) going through the earliest years of my life when I was just reliant on key memories. When you’ve been working on something for so long you inevitably change your perspective and how you want to go about it although I’m not sure my initial premise is that original at all; it’s not as if I’ve lived an uber interesting life compared to many. But I’m just trying to get it all down at the moment so I can move onto the more creative stage.

In between times, I’m keeping going by writing the shorter pieces. For instance, I have written a short story spin-off to my very first novel Did You Whisper Back? I hope to bring that out as a stand-alone first before adding it at as an epilogue to the main book. I’m also writing a lot more poetry. I would love maybe to bring out a poetry and flash fiction collection and also to explore audiobooks but that would be a big undertaking.

A huge thank you to Kate for joining us today! If you would like to know more about Kate and her huge back catalogue of books then please follow the links below!

Links:

Website: https://kjrbooks.yolasite.com/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/authorrigby

Blogs: https://authisticwords.blogspot.com/

http://bubbitybooks.blogspot.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kate_jay_r

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJTtmSAk/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@TheBubbity

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Kate-Rigby/author/B001KDR9GE

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4768025

Facebook book lovers group for Autistics:https://m.facebook.com/groups/243261171372852/

Interview with Miriam Hastings

September 27, 2024 ~ ChanAtkins ~ 4 Comments

Read on for an exclusive interview with award-winning author, Miriam Hastings!

WINNER of the MIND Book Of The Year Award! https://amzn.eu/d/0u4H7eI

1. You’ve written books and short stories in a few genres though I would say they are all terrifically character-driven – what is your favourite genre to write in? How would you describe your type of writing?

I don’t honestly think in terms of genre, either in my reading or my writing. I read a very wide variety of books and have always written in many different ways.

I think the type of writing I like to read always takes me into an entirely different world, whether in terms of a different historical period, or a very different geographical setting, or a different mental state, or an entirely imaginary place. If I had to describe the type of writing that I do myself, since different stories and books I’ve written cover all the above, I might say it was magic realism, or fantasy, or surreal historical fiction, or a different version of reality, or a unique internal world. But I still wouldn’t be sure that any of those labels can cover the type of writing that I do.

2. Going back to characters, yours are always very memorable. Is it the character who comes to you first or the story idea? What is the process like for you?

That’s a difficult question! It’s very hard to know the answer. In most of my novels there is more than one central character. In The Minotaur Hunt, my first novel, there are three central protagonists who are all very important. I think the first and youngest of them, Rachel, came to me first of all and I began the novel with her.

In Walking Shadow, my first historical novel, Edmund/Rosamond, William Shakespeare’s younger sibling, definitely came to me first; in fact, to begin with I was planning to write a very different novel around that character. The story idea of the gunpowder plot seized me as I did some historical research on Shakespeare’s theatre company, which led me to find out that they really were under suspicion of sympathising and possibly aiding the Catholic conspirators. I think it’s not coincidental that this is one of my only novels to have just one narrator.

The Dowager’s Dream, my second historical (also a magical) novel, originally began with a mermaid. I found an old encyclopaedia of animals, published in 1840, that my partner’s father had bought many years ago in an auction of a dead Methodist minister’s library. At the end of this encyclopaedia there is a section on fabulous animals which includes a description written by the daughter of a minister, describing a mermaid she saw off the north coast in 1809. It was so detailed and matter of fact that I had to find out what was going on at the time. I wanted to know why such a proper and virtuous young woman, who had been brought up in the rigorous Kirk of Scotland, might see a mermaid. So that led to the creation of Mary MacKenzie and to my research on the Highland Clearances which I carried out over several years, spending all my holidays on the north coast of Scotland. It was particularly fascinating that in the process I discovered more about some of my own ancestors, and particularly my great-great-grandmother, Margaret Mackenzie, whose family was a victim of the clearances. The more I discovered, the more I became absorbed in the story of Mary and the mermaid and in the horrific displacement of the Highlanders and the complete destruction of their way of life.

3. Who is your favourite character from one of your books and why?

I don’t honestly know. When I’m writing a novel I become quite obsessed with the characters but after I’ve moved on to another book, I gradually forget about them as I become obsessed with the new ones. I find that if I pick up one of my old books, e.g. The Minotaur Hunt, I have this wonderful feeling of reuniting with old friends as I rediscover the characters. When I revised that novel for Kindle back in 2013, I wrote a short “afterword” revisiting the characters and describing their lives since the events in the story were over. I found I enjoyed writing it a lot more than I had enjoyed writing the original novel!

I suppose I often feel most fond of the characters I’m writing about at the time, but that is a generalisation. I particularly love the characters in The Dowager’s Dream, especially Mary, Kirsty, and the Dowager herself, and I think they are my favourites even though I have completed a further two books since I finished that one.

However, since childhood I’ve always had a passionate love for animal, particularly cats, probably because of spending so much time ill, alone but for my pet cat who always kept me company, so I have a special love for the animal characters in my novels, e.g. Patty cat in The Dowager’s Dream, and Abednego in my latest novel, Hospitality to Strangers.

4. Your last novel, The Dowagers Dream, was set in the early years of the 19th century, what sort of research did you have to do in order for the location and topics covered to be authentic?

Over about 6 years, I stayed on the north coast many times and during different months so as to experience the weather and seasons throughout the year. I also made the most of the clearance museum in the old Kirk at Farr on the north coast, and I’m very grateful to the archivist and librarian there who helped me a lot. I visited the museum in Helmsdale where there is also a library open to visitors and I was able to do some research there too. Then there were word-of-mouth stories as well, e.g., I usually stayed in a cottage owned by a sheep farmer, Joanna MacKay, whose grandfather was carried away as a baby from their homestead during the clearances. Hearing such moving and powerful family stories were an important inspiration.

5. Your novels cover gritty topics such as the divide between rich and poor, mental health, sexuality and more – what drives you to delve into these topics and how hard is it to frame them historically? I’m thinking in particular of Walking Shadow set in 1606 and The Dowagers Dream.

Ever since I was 14 years old I have been deeply concerned about the injustices and corruption in the world. In fact, at that age I became very depressed to the extent of being suicidal, finding it really hard to cope with growing up in a world as terrible as the one around me appeared to be. I had been ill throughout my early life and, spending so much time alone, I had always created vivid fantasy worlds where I spent most of my life. I think being able to control those fantasy worlds made it harder for me to be so helpless and powerless about the suffering I saw in the real one. At 14, I became politically active, joining the School’s Action Union and becoming involved in feminism, black power, and disability rights. My imaginary life, including my writing, has always been a part of my idealism, my belief in the importance of the links that bind us all worldwide, and our personal responsibility to help all those who have less than we do and those who are oppressed and suffering. I have always seen my writing as a form of political activism and my desire has always been to give a voice to the outsider in society. I want to portray characters who are disenfranchised and powerless, whether through their gender, their poverty, their ethnicity, or their religious identity. However, I really want to avoid being too dogmatic and preaching to my readers. Writing historical fiction is a good way of dramatising the evils committed today. History repeats itself and the human race seems incapable of learning lessons from the past. I try to show this in my books.

For example, Walking Shadow is a historical novel with profoundly modern themes: the fear of terrorism, political manipulation of information, and issues of religious fundamentalism and intolerance. As I did my research into the gunpowder plot, I was amazed to find that the language used about Catholics was identical to the language George Bush and Tony Blair used to demonise Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda, and that the anti-Islamic phobia following 9/11 was the same as the anti-Catholic feeling in England after the gunpowder plot of November 1605.

Similarly The Dowager’s Dream may be set in the early years of the 19th Century, but I hope the themes of dispossession, genocide and ethnic cleansing will resonate with the contemporary reader.

6. What are you working on next? Tell us about it!

Being quite severely disabled and suffering from chronic pain, I find it hard being an indie author since I want to be writing but I can’t do that as well as market and promote my books. At the moment I have a completed novella, The House of Consolación, waiting to be published, a long novel, Hospitality to Strangers, undergoing a final (I hope!) revision, and a half written novel waiting to be finished.

The House of Consolación is set in an isolated, hidden valley in rural Spain, based on two areas that I know and love. My love affair with Spain and the Spanish began when I was a young woman in a mental hospital. There was only one member of staff who helped me; my occupational therapist, a young Spanish woman called Carmen. She was a talented artist and a wonderful, caring therapist. It must be well over forty-five years ago but whenever I’m going through a bad time, I still remind myself of the wise and compassionate things she said to me. The novella is not a traditional work, the valley itself is one of the characters, and it’s up to the reader to decide whether the book is a collection of linked short stories or a complete work in itself. There are several narrators in the novella, it is their relationships to each other and the unfolding events around them that create the world of the valley.

The completed novel, Hospitality to Strangers, is set in the 1960s and portrays the troubled relationships in the Benedict family. Fred Benedict is a respected elder in the Redemption Hall Christian Fellowship. As the stable, conservative years of the 1950s fade into a more anarchic decade of change, he desperately attempts to protect his family from the worldly dangers he sees threatening them everywhere. However, his wife and three daughters wish to embrace the exciting new opportunities the 1960s have to offer.

While Fred tries to keep them all following the path of the Lord, it is he himself who brings the greatest dangers into the family. First, in the form of his father, Arthur, absent in Nigeria throughout most of Fred’s childhood. Fred longs for a close relationship with his father and so he persuades his wife, Nell, to allow Arthur to live with them in his old age. She only agrees to have him against her better judgement for she senses that Arthur is hiding many dark secrets. It is Deborah, their youngest daughter, who soon becomes Arthur’s prey.

Then Fred and the other elders invite Daniel, a charismatic African American missionary, to visit for a year, working with the Redemption Hall Fellowship. But Daniel brings change of a kind no-one is expecting.

7. What would you say are the highs and lows of being an indie author?

I think I’ve already covered some of the lows and difficulties of being responsible for all aspects of publishing your work, especially if you’re disabled, however, there are also many benefits. As an indie writer, you are in complete control of the process of producing your book so every choice is yours; be it of the title, the cover, the size, the font, where it is marketed and how. My first novel, The Minotaur Hunt, was traditionally published through the Harvester Press and while they were very supportive, being a first-time author and a particularly unconfident one, I felt obliged to go along with all their suggestions and choices.

8. Tell us what drew you to join the Chasing Driftwood Books collective and what hopes/plans do you have for the future?

Following on from my previous answer, the other great thing about being an indie author is the wonderful camaraderie, support and encouragement I have received from other indie authors. It was one of these brilliant writers, Kate Rigby, who invited me to join Chasing Driftwood. I hope that the inspiring example of the other members of the collective will motivate me into marketing my work more effectively.

9. Who are your favourite authors and why?

First of all, I would say that every writer in Chasing Driftwood is an excellent author and I recommend everyone of them. As a child I always loved books that contained magic and fantasy; I first discovered the Narnia books of C.S. Lewis when I was six and loved them, then when I was eight my older sister introduced me to the superb historical fantasies of Violet Needham and Joan Aiken. As an adult, I have always loved magic realism, e.g. the work of Angela Carter and Isabel Allende.

For several years I taught cross-cultural and postcolonial literature to mature students at Birkbeck College; the writers I taught included many outstandingly talented ones, such as Toni Morrison, Bessie Head, Nadeem Aslam, Amitav Gosh, and so many others who have inspired and challenged me as a writer.

Some of my past creative writing students have gone on to publish their work and I would warmly recommend them as well, e.g. Christina Giscombe and Margrethe Alexandroni.

10. What would you say inspires you to write? Or if you prefer, where do your ideas come from?

My desire to change the world for the better, and to help the traumatised and the oppressed to be seen and understood is my main inspiration.

Ideas for stories come from anywhere and everywhere, including my own life, past historical events that shock and move me, overheard conversations, other people’s stories, world events, my own family history.

Ideas are everywhere and anyone can access them, and then transform them into something else, something magical “rich and strange”. That is the glorious thing about being a writer!

A huge thank you for the very talented Miriam Hastings for joining us today! If you would like to find out more about her work and follow her for updates, please see the links below. Also, consider subscribing to our website for future updates on all our author’s books!

Website: https://miriamhastings.com/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MiriamHastings.author/

Amazon page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Miriam-Hastings/author/B00D1WEVO0?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1727338572&sr=8-1&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miriam.hastings3/

Interview with Chantelle Atkins On Her Latest Release: At Night We Played In The Road

September 13, 2024 ~ ChanAtkins ~ 1 Comment

Read on for an exclusive interview with award-winning author, Chantelle Atkins, plus the blurb and links to her latest release, At Night We Played In The Road!

“When Tom Lane was born, he accidentally killed his mother and in the process, his father’s love.

Determined to protect Tom from their father’s criminal business, older brother Alfie must become Tom’s father, mother and protector. It’s the two of them against the world until the day Tom chooses a life of crime over Alfie’s dream of a normal life.
Ten years later the estranged brothers are reunited when a violent gang bring Tom to Alfie’s door with a gun to his head.

Tom’s partners in crime have turned on him and he needs his brother to save him one more time…

A darkly brooding story of brotherly love, belonging and the beginnings that shape who we become.“

Buy here: https://books2read.com/u/mBy7DZ

Your latest release is connected to your five-book series, The Boy With The Thorn In His Side. Can you tell us more about that?

Yes! The Boy With The Thorn In His Side Part 5 introduced two characters, Tom and Alfie Lane. They become unwittingly involved in Danny’s (the main character in The Boy…series) struggle to escape his crime ridden past. He helps them and they help him. As I wrote these scenes, I fell so in love with the characters I knew they had to have a story of their own. I was curious about their past, specifically their childhood and wondered what had happened to them to lead them to this point. For example, when Danny first meets Tom Lane, he is tied to a chair, about to be tortured by a violent thug Danny has tangled with before. But what led Tom to that chair? I saw a very troubled and co-dependent sibling relationship between Tom and Alfie and really wanted to explore that.

What is it about Tom and Alfie in particular that made you want to write their story, opposed to other side characters?

Good question! I have to be careful because I think all my side characters would like their own book one day! But these two did really catch my imagination. I think I was interested in the brotherly relationship and how Alfie had to be a father and brother to Tom. I was interested in that very specific dynamic too, one of co-dependency and how damaging that can be to both individuals. I wanted to examine it from both of their points of view, so I did. They love each other deeply and fiercely, which is incredibly beautiful, but they also hurt each other a lot over the years. Their family background was really interesting to me too. How sometimes you cannot escape your family, even if you don’t want to be like them. How some children hero worship abusive parents, while others see them for what they are and try to break free. Tom also has Tourette’s Syndrome which was something I was researching a lot at the time as my youngest child displays many of the symptoms. Tom is based on him, just a tiny bit. His energy, his optimism, his intelligence!

This book explores many dark themes as do your other stories. What is it about the genre that you particularly enjoy?

I think I am just drawn to the dark side of life and everything that means and entails. There are so many layers to humanity and being alive and it’s fun to pick them apart and see what flows out. I like gritty stories, topics you can get your teeth into. I like writing about outsiders and rebels, people who don’t fit in and don’t want to. I think there is so much to be explored there! I suppose it comes back to writing what I want to read. I want to read books with relatable flawed characters and dark themes, so that’s what I enjoy writing too.

You’re well known for your passion and dedication to writing, but what keeps you so inspired?

I suppose life itself and all it’s mysteries, all it’s ugliness and beauty, everything! I love the quote that reading is breathing in, and writing is breathing out. It feels like that for me. Writing is me exhaling everything I have learnt, felt, seen, observed and wondered about life and people and society and families… Writing to me is pure magic. It feels incredibly exciting, like a natural high. People inspire me, families inspire me, the endless possibilities for stories inspire me! I don’t know how to live and not write.

Are there more books coming for The Boy With The Thorn In His Side universe? What can we expect?

It certainly is a universe, full of inter-connected books. Characters pop up in each-others stories and the locations used are familiar. I have two more books to release in this universe and then that will be it. Those two books should tie up everyone’s stories. I am releasing the sequel to my debut novel, The Mess Of Me in January 2025. The Mess Of Us is set two years after the dramatic events of the first book and see the characters Lou and Joe trying to come to terms with what Joe’s criminal brother Leon did to them, as well as dealing with an unexpected pregnancy, among other things. In The Mess Of Us we get to explore Leon a bit more. He was very much the mysterious boogey man in The Mess Of Me, and the main character and narrator, Lou, absolutely despised him, and quite rightly. But she sees another side to him in the sequel, and then he reappears as a main character with his own storyline in the final book in this universe, The Dark Finds You. I aim to release this summer 2025. This will unite many of my characters from other books! Lots of them already know each other so it was not hard at all to draw them all together for one storyline, which also helps conclude their own personal ones. It involves Leon from The Mess Of Me and The Mess Of Us, as already mentioned, Joe also appears from those books. Elliot from Elliot Pie’s Guide To Human Nature, plus his mother Laura and friend Leah are also main characters in The Dark Finds You. Danny from The Boy With The Thorn In His Side is now in his 40s, so fans of that series might like to see how he’s doing now! And Bill Robinson from The Holds End trilogy is another main character. I wrote the first draft in six weeks – it was that addictive and exciting and I can’t wait to share it!

You tease a lot of your work on your social media. What can you tell us about Black Hare Valley?

Well, mainly that it’s another universe that has totally sucked me in and is currently holding me captive! I am seriously addicted to this at the moment! Black Hare Valley was first created during lockdown, 2020. I had just re-read my favourite Stephen King book, ‘IT’ and wanted to write something similar as a sort of homage, I guess. I envisioned a close-knit town with a dark secret and a band of misfit kids drawn together to solve a mystery. That was all I had. However, me and my son, who was 12 at the time, designed a huge map of the town just for fun. We created a valley town set between two Iron Age Hill Forts, with farmland, forests and rolling hills, rivers and streams. We added everything they would need from schools and theatres, to pet shops and garages! I also created some character bios. It was a lot of fun. I left it alone for a few years while I was working on other books. Two years ago we had a prolonged power cut and no WiFi so I ended up writing Black Hare Valley in long-hand into five notebooks. I didn’t really know what I was doing. It just happened. I just let it flow. As I wrote it, I had to ask myself more and more questions and the story slowly unraveled. I then typed it up and left it alone again. When I’d finished The Boy… universe books, I could finally turn my attention back to Black Hare Valley and it sucked me in and wouldn’t let go. Essentially it’s going to be a three book series with the first book set in 1996, the second in 1966 and the third in 2026. It’s a very dark folk horror story about this very strange town tightly controlled by a well-meaning Neighbourhood Watch Committee. They are not what they seem however, and children, in particular, have a habit of going missing, never to be seen again… That’s all I want to say but if you love folk horror, creepy towns, misfit kids, and quirky traditions such as May Day celebrations, fairy rings, leylines, hill forts and more, you might just want to visit!

Who are some writers that influence you and what books do you enjoy reading?

I’m a huge fan of Stephen King, Charles Bukowski and Chris Whittaker, to name a few quickly. But generally I love reading anything dark and gritty with wonderful memorable characters. It’s all about the characters for me. As a teenager I was very influenced by Stephen King, and SE Hinton.

What made you decide to create Chasing Driftwood Books?

I’ve been writing and independently publishing since 2013. I’ve published with indie collectives three times before, but each one eventually folded. They were all different, but essentially they were all allowing authors to self-publish for free and keep their royalties, but belong to a bigger community of authors who can support each other and help promote each other. I wanted to take all I had learnt from those platforms and create our own. We are very small at the moment but will open for submissions in due course! What I have realised since I started publishing was that it’s very, very difficult to land an agent and get a traditional deal these days, and also that the traditional deals are not always what they are cracked up to be. I’ve learnt that indie authors who do well are in the most enviable position of all. They have full creative control, retain full royalties and can very often earn enough to give up their day jobs. But to achieve that, they often have to pump a lot of money into their books. Paying for editing, proofreading and professional covers, goes without saying, but to really succeed they also need to be paying for advertising. Low income authors, disabled authors and other under-represented groups, are simply not in a position to do this. I’ve been an avid reader of indie books for some time and have read some truly extraordinary books by incredibly talented authors who should be selling far more and getting far more success and visibility. Money is so often the problem. What we are hoping to do here is draw quality authors together into a community that can help support and promote each other. That is just the start but the long-term aim is increased visibility for all our authors!

You have a prominent cast of male protagonists throughout your books. What is it about writing through their eyes that inspires you to do so?

I think I once sat down and worked out that by the time I have written and released all my works-in-progress plus all my vague ideas for books, I will have an equal amount of male and female protagonists! But I get what you are saying. With my published books at the moment, there are more male protagonists than female. I think partly this is pure accident, in as much as the characters just come to me and I can’t often control their gender. But also I think in the past at least I have been more curious about the male view and experience, simply because I am not one! So, that made it just a bit more interesting to explore.

Finally, what more can we expect from the world of Chantelle Atkins?

Two more books in the interconnected The Boy With The Thorn In His Side universe, as already mentioned, followed I expect a year later by the full Black Hare Valley trilogy. I have also started a fifth book in The Day The Earth Turned series, though that is taking a back seat at the moment! Works-in-progress involve a half-finished YA zombie apocalypse story told in a diary format, a family mystery called The 7th Child, and a story about two dysfunctional young adults who get bored of waiting for the apocalypse so decide to try and start one themselves… I am also planning to write a crime book with my oldest child, Daisy! She is about to start her Masters in creative writing and we have come up with an excellent serial killer plot set on a university campus! I have another YA post-apocalyptic story that has been planned with character bios done…. I think that’s it!

Thanks for dropping by, Chantelle!

If you’d like to follow Chantelle and keep up to date with her books news, here are the links:

Website/blog: https://chantelleatkins.com/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/chantelleatkinswriter

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chantelleatkinswriter/

Medium: https://medium.com/@chantelleatkins_17828