The Unusual Historicals blog site recently featured my book, ‘Embers of Heaven,’ and asked some penetrating questions about my work. [singlepic id=55 w=320 h=240 float=]
Here is an excerpt:
Q: What’s the one thing that keeps you going back and writing?
Well, there are stories to be told. They more or less march up to me and they shake me by the shoulders if I have been procrastinating too long and they more or less tell me to get on with things, if I don’t mind, thank you. My stories are in a way my muses – they inspire and re-inspire themselves until they are done, and I keep going back to them and talking to them and cajoling them and yelling at them and threatening dire action if they don’t do as I say… They are my friends, and a collective nemesis, and they demand that I tell them.
What can I do but obey? I am but a humble writer, and they need my mind and my hand to release themselves out into the world. So I lend them. Willingly. Often. Again and again.
Q: … Is there anything a character did that surprised you?
EVERYTHING my characters do surprises me. My best characters are very much in charge of their own stories. I have learned the hard way that my characters are not TAME characters – they are not hawks trained to jesses and hood. I set them free, and then I follow where they lead me. Everyone is happier that way. And my characters, my lovely ever surprising characters, are real people who live and breathe, they are someone you just haven’t met yet, but they exist. And if they walked out of the book, off the page, and stuck out their hand for you to shake it, you’d recognize them even if you have never formally met. Yes, they surprise me. I’ve been known to weep at some of the things my characters have chosen to do. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
You can read the whole interview here:
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