A quick interview with Kaaron Warren and Ellen Datlow: Unusual Objects Lead to a Unique Project
Today I interview speculative fiction writer, Kaaron Warren, and editor, Ellen Datlow about their collaboration on the Tool Tales chapbook
Tag: interview
A quick interview with Matthew R Davis: Horror Writer
Maureen interviews Australian horror writer, Matthew R Davis
A quick interview with L. L. Hunter: paranormal romance writer
My December author interview is with L. L. Hunter, whose Midnight Ball series concludes this month. Here’s some info from Laura about this particular series:
The first book, Reign of Secrets came to fruition about 7 years ago. I had this image of a princess with magical jewellery that could portal to different worlds. But the full world building of this series didn’t happen until earlier this year. My writers’ group helped me plan it out. We chatted about the rules that governed the world. I also wanted to write a story featuring gods and goddesses. At the time there weren’t many around in bookstores, but it seems stories of gods and goddesses are quite popular haha. I was glad in a way, because the book was received really well and is one of my highest bestsellers to date.
The sequel Crown of Lies, begins straight after the end of Reign of Secrets. I left it on quite a cliffhanger (sorry, readers!), but I planned to release each book fairly close together so readers wouldn’t have to wait that long.The last book, Queen of Midnight, follows Grace, as she not only deals with the aftermath of the gates of the underworld being opened, but her power growing stronger, and a couple of bombshells being dropped on her in the form of family secrets. She also doubts herself a lot in this book, so there’s a personal journey she has to take as well so she can eventually be queen and unite the kingdoms.There’s also the angsty romance between Grace and Maddi which I absolutely LOVE. I think they’re my new favourite couple.
So now I’ve whetted your appetite, it’s time for the interview to begin!
You mention in your bio you used to write fan fic. What fandom did you love and how have they influenced your original works?
Yes, I have written some fanfics. I loved writing Supernatural, and a few others. My friend and I actually wrote a Supernatural / X files crossover. I also had a Vampire Diaries one that was pretty popular online, as well as a few based on the Shadowhunter books by Cassandra Clare. They’re still published on Fanfiction.net. And no, I will not tell you my penname…
You’ve studied many different fields … vet nursing, forensic science, dramatic arts … how do they inspire this trilogy?
I’ve found that in studying many different subjects, it’s prepared me well for research when writing a book and as an author. I used some of my forensic science knowledge to write the Adelaide Paige Saga for instance.
You mention writing plays and musicals in your bio which I think is so cool! Any faves and how do they inform your novels?
With my drama class, back before I started writing my first novel, I wrote, produced and directed a series of musicals entitled No Frills Airlines. They were so much fun. Play writing and screenplay writing is a whole different ball game to writing a novel, but I guess they help you with plot. They use the same story arcs.
What speaks to you about paranormal romance? How do you think this trilogy stands out from the crowd? Also, any other great paranormal romances you’d recommend to readers?
I have loved paranormal romance since as long as I can remember. I love writing the creatures, their powers, you know, angels and demons with wings and glowing irises, and a man that can change into a dragon, etc. I think there’s something so interesting and magical about paranormal stories.
In thinking about the Midnight Ball series, when I was trying to market it, I couldn’t really think of a series that was similar. That’s good and bad. You want something to stand out from the crowd, but also something that fits, so readers finished one fantasy or paranormal series, can pick up another similar in theme and genre etc. When I first started writing and plotting Reign of Secrets, there wasn’t anything published that was like it at the time. And now a year later, I’m finding a lot more stories featuring gods and goddesses and epic adventure fantasies out there.
Can you give us an elevator pitch for the series as a whole?
The Midnight Ball series is about a young princess named Grace with magic blood. She lives in a kingdom named Sydlandia, which she then finds out is part of a bigger world called Aurum, and then that world is part of a bigger universe. There are secrets and magic and curses, witches, mysterious demi-gods as well as gorgeous gods and goddesses. Grace finds out her parents had been lying to her throughout her entire life, and she is part of a hidden destiny meant to restore peace throughout all the kingdoms and to unite the worlds. There is also a LGBTQ romance at the heart of it.
Tell us a bit about the trilogy’s protagonist and why we’ll love her.
Grace is naive at first, but only because everyone has been lying to her. But when she finds out about the lies, and experiences further betrayals, she really grows into her own skin and has to grow up quickly. She becomes strong and powerful and empowered, and that’s why I loved writing her. I hope you will love her as much as I do.
Why gods and goddesses? What about them appeals to you? Did you draw upon particular myths and legends for your trilogy?
I hadn’t written about gods and goddesses really before, and it’s something I’ve wanted to explore for a while. As well as creating a brand new world built from the ground up that has its own lore and rules. The trilogy was inspired by Greek mythology, such as the tale of Persephone and Hades, but in my books, Hades calls himself Aed.
Tell us a bit about what we can expect from the romance in Book 3.
Without giving away any spoilers, Grace and Maddi’s romance and relationship as a whole will really be tested in Queen of Midnight. But I promise you, there is a happy ending 😉
What kind of research did you do for this trilogy and what’s the coolest thing you discovered writing Book 3?
As this series is epic fantasy, and the world totally created by me, I didn’t really need research that much. But at a writing retreat, which is where I finally finished Book 3, I threw out a question to the rest of the ladies: If you could eat anything in the world, say it’s your last day on earth, or wanted that special dish you couldn’t get anywhere else, what would it be? Something gods and goddesses would dine on.
Some of the answers floored me, such as Strawberries served in fairy floss tasting clouds, golden pear tarts, and thousand year old mushroom risotto using mushrooms found at the end of the rainbow in the land of the unicorns … most of them made it into a scene toward the end of the book.
Do you have a fave passage you’d like to share with readers to tease the final book?
I can’t really share a quote that won’t spoil the book, but there are so many favourite scenes in this book that I love. It’s my favourite in the whole trilogy. Especially the very last epilogue scene…
Awesome Laura! Thanks so much for chatting to me at my blog! Readers, you can read the complete Midnight Ball series now.
Reign of Secrets: https://books2read.com/reignofsecrets
Crown of Lies: https://books2read.com/crownoflies
Queen of Midnight: https://books2read.com/queenofmidnight
L.L. Hunter is the author of over 20 published works, including The Legend of the Archangel Series and The Eden Chronicles. She has studied everything from veterinary nursing, forensic science, and dramatic arts, but has always known her true calling was to be an author. She has been writing since her teens – everything from fan fiction, to song lyrics, to plays and musicals. When not working on her next paranormal romance, she can be found at home in Australia, reading somewhere comfortable with one or both of her “fur babies.” Follow her on Facebook, Twitter @llhunterbooks, and her blog – http://llhunter.blogspot.com.au.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/llhunterbooks
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LLHunterbooks
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/llhunter/
Blog: http://llhunter.blogspot.com.au.
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/l-l-hunter
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/L-L-Hunter/e/B00B2B701I?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1604876963&sr=8-1
Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/5b4d48345b2d/llhunter
Reblog: Alan Baxter interview for Australasian Horror
Alan makes some super interesting points in his interview about when he knew it was time to try for a short story collection! via Alan Baxter, Best Collected Work 2016
The Word is Murder: interview with Anthony Horowitz
I’ve long loved Anthony Horowitz and meta-fiction. A match made in heaven! Stay tuned for my review of this novel.
Getting Lost in Translation: An Interview with Stephanie Smee
And now for something completely different on the old blog… My brother has a passion for all things linguistics so I am very excited to be able to host an interview with a translator at the InkAshlings blog. Stephanie is currently working as part of the Eagle Books team on translating a Jules Verne adventure novel into English. I interviewed Eagle Books founder and author, Sophie Masson, in March. You can read my interview with Sophie here.
1. Tell us a bit about your background and how you got into translating books.
I came to translating via a career in the legal world. I read both Law and Arts at Adelaide University, majoring in French language and literature. I then completed an Honours year in French at Sydney University. Languages have always been my first love, I think; I have polyglot parents – a Swedish mother who speaks 5 languages and an Australian father who also speaks 5 languages (although two of his are no longer really “spoken”, ie Latin and Ancient Greek.) It’s probably fair to say I inherited a love of words – in many languages: French, German, Italian, Swedish -from them both!
After practising as a solicitor in Sydney and London, I made a decision to go back to my love of French and sought my NAATI qualifications in translation. It took me a while to launch myself into the wonderful world of literary translating after spending a number of years working as a legal translator.
It was a conversation with my brother, an art critic, that prompted me to take the leap from law to literature. That, and the never-ending support of my husband who encouraged me to focus on my first project, the translation into English of the Countess de Ségur’s iconic French children’s books. I have also been extremely fortunate to have wonderful friends and mentors: Cheryl Akle, director of Better Reading, who introduced me to Lou Johnson at Simon & Schuster, publishers of my translations of the Countess’s beautiful books; and Sophie Masson, author and one of the directors of Christmas Press and Eagle Books.
2. What has been the most exciting part of translating a Jules Verne novel?
It is an enormous privilege to be part of this exciting publishing event. It’s not every day one gets to translate a Jules Verne novel!
While Mikhail has been, and continues to be, enormously popular in France, it is almost entirely unknown to Anglophones. So, perhaps one of the most exciting parts of the project is knowing that I am part of the team bringing this wonderful historical adventure story to a whole new English-speaking audience.
Jules Verne is a masterful story-teller, and I feel very privileged to be helping to continue his legacy. And what a legacy it is!
3. What has been the most challenging part?
The challenges involved in translating such a novel are numerous, but they are part of the fun! Verne is the master of creating a very immediate sense of place, even if that place is a village in the heart of Siberia. Part of his technique involves the extraordinary degree of detail with which he paints his scenes – one can almost see the lightning cracking over the Urals in the middle of a thunderstorm, feel the bumpy road as the wooden telega wends its way through the mountain pass. His vocabulary is enormously rich and I often find myself delving into my wonderful 19th century dictionaries and poring over old maps of the Russian Empire given to me by my father-in-law for just the purpose of confirming place names and geography. Yet Verne’s dialogue is sharp and fresh. It scarcely feels like any work is needed to render it into engaging English for a 21st century reader!
4. Is there anything that simply won’t translate into English and how do you get around that?
Linguistically, challenges often arise when translating humour and wordplays, but working on such sentences can be the most entertaining and gratifying for a translator. There have certainly been some concepts and even sentence structures favoured in the 19th century that have had me sitting back on my haunches while I determine the best way to render them for our new readership. Hopefully I have been successful in my endeavours in this regard!
5. What’s next for you and Eagle Books?
I am very much focussed on this exciting launch title for Eagle Books, but I hope it is the first of many wonderful collaborations.
Thanks Stephanie for your insights into an unusual, but different, fun and rewarding career. Please do consider backing Stephanie’s project here.
You can like the facebook page for Eagle Books here and the Eagle Press website here. I will be interviewing others involved with this project in coming weeks so stay tuned…
About Stephanie…
Stephanie is a translator into English of all things literary and French. Having worked as a lawyer in Sydney and London, Stephanie happily traded in a legal career for a return to her linguistic calling. After several years as a legal translator, she left the world of pleadings and contractual documents behind and made her literary translation début with a new English translation of 19th century French children’s author, the Countess de Ségur’s Fleurville Trilogy published by Simon & Schuster (Australia) in 2010. The Trilogy includes the perennially popular Sophie’s Misfortunes, Camille and Madeleine: A Tale of Two Perfect Little Girls and The Holidays. Stephanie’s subsequent translations of the Countess’ works – also published by Simon & Schuster (Australia) – include the wonderfully cheeky Monsieur Cadichon: Memoirs of a Donkey (2011) and A Room at Guardian Angel Inn (2012) and its sequel, General Dourakine (2013). Her original short story, The Right Path, was published in Once Upon A Christmas (Christmas Press, 2014). Stephanie lives in Sydney with her family. Her website is at www.stephaniesmee.com
A Quick Interview with Myself!
I had some questions left over from my Freshly Booked Interview which unfortunately didn’t fit into the (very generous) sixty minute time slot. I have decided to put the five most interesting here in case people are still hungry for more! Who are your favourite…