Writer Spotlight

Writer Spotlight: Spring Issue (2008)

Writer Spotlight

For our Spring Issue, Literary Magic has chosen:

Paul Hughes and Sue Lynn

Writing Team and Authors of The Shard

This issue, Literary Magic has two writers to be featured as the Spring 2008 Writer Spotlights. Paul Hughes and Sue Lynn are good examples of how writing teams should function. Both individually and together, Paul and Sue have written and published novels, a memoir, Children’s stories, and several scripts and short stories--the latter of which can be found in this and past issues of Literary Magic. The interview was conducted by the Literary Magic Editor-in-Chief, Rocky Reichman. Read what this dynamic duo has to say about their writing partnership, marketing on the radio and their writing lives.

Writer Spotlight: Questions for Paul Hughes and Sue Lynn

1) LM (Literary Magic): What is it like to co-author books? Do you find it different than writing on your own?

PS ( Paul Hughes and Sue Lynn): At first as writing was such a personal thing that it was quite difficult to conceive co-authoring. However, when we met we found ourselves pretty much on the same wavelength creatively. The success in a partnership such as ours is the ability to second guess what the other partner means.

2) LM: How many novels, to date, have you written together and alone?

PS: Before I first worked with Sue, I wrote a booked based around my experiences in the army, entitled Cadre Stab. It was published in 2006. Sue contributed articles and stories to magazines and publications across the country.

3) LM: Do you write solely novels, or do you delve into non-fiction, too?

PS: Before we collaborated, my only writing experience was non-fiction, whereas Susan had already completed many short stories. In fact, it’s her imagination that often kick-starts ideas

4) LM: What fills your day? What are your professions?

PS: We work 300 miles apart so large amounts of time is spent talking on the internet and telephone. Sue loves to spend time with her youngest daughter (the rest have flown the nest!) and runs a series of online shops. I (Paul) work for a market research company, as well as running an equipment hire firm.

5) LM: Give us a brief biography of your lives.

PS: Sue worked as a first grade teacher and is trained in special needs help. She has also worked in the retail sector. Paul served in the British Army for 22 years before being medically discharged. Sue is from the beautiful East Anglia city of Norwich, famed for it magnificent cathedral. Paul, on the other hand, hails from the grim northeast of England, the west end of Newcastle to be precise. “Although I don’t live there anymore, having relocated to pastures in nearby Northumberland I still consider myself a ‘Geordie’ (The term for people from Newcastle).

6) LM: What are your dreams, your goals in life?

PS: Between us we share a similar ambition to write well and to be recognized for that: perhaps that is our unifying ideal. The immortality bestowed by the written word also features highly, as do the baser needs of financial security.

7) LM: How do you write your stories? How do you go about crafting them?

PS: Inspiration comes in many real forms: news stories, an overheard conversation in a shop, actual life events. “Unusual people in unusual circumstances” or characters that (in Children’s fiction) give us the feeling that they will hold the attention of younger listeners. Sue’s short stories in some cases focus upon real events and draw upon notes made as well as family memories.

8) LM: What inspired you to write, what made you want to write as a team?

PS: We share the same goals and ideals: free spirited desire to put our imaginations on paper, meeting each other to boost our confidences. Writing as a team, we share the same thought processes and yet can still take the criticism from each other

9) LM: What is your advice for other fiction writers? What advice can you offer other novelists who are trying to get published?

PS: Never ever quit, and believe in your work. Accept criticism but don’t accept everything a critic says as true or carved in stone. Get a trusted non family member to read your work but ensure you pitch it at the right person, i.e. a reader who would actually buy your product in a book store. (Basic marketing starts at page 1.) A book on lace making in 19th century France shouldn’t be offered to a 21 year old NFL fan. But above all, don’t dwell on rejection letters--use them to line your improve yourself, and keep sending them to targeted publishers.

10) LM: What can readers expect next from your writing team?

PS: We are currently working on Oswald the Oldest Cat in the World, a Children’s novel about a time traveling cat (Oswald) who through a twist of fate was given 999 lives instead of the standard 9. Also the sequel to The Shard, our adventure novel, is at the “mulled over” stage. We have also written several scripts that are under consideration by various broadcasters in the UK and the USA.

11) LM: What reactions (praise, reviews) have your books received?

PS: Well, Cadre Stab my first book got pasted, because I pitched it to the wrong publication and was rejected, denting my moral somewhat. But there was publicity, and it did help sales! The Children’s books have been better received, as has our Audio Stories.

12) LM: In what ways to you market your books? Do you use conventional methods, or your own?

PS: Our products can be found in bookstores and online websites, Barnes and Noble, Amazon etc. A useful and often under used marketing tool is local radio: we approached our respective local stations and have been featured many times hawking our various ventures. (Anybody who listens to local radio will soon see how short of content they really are.) We were actually approached to write a script for a local radio show. Simple and persistent emailing to show producers gets results. Local papers too are almost always willing to help and feature us in our respective papers.

13) LM: Will you be having any book signings, contests, readings or events in the near future? In the United Kingdom? Across Europe? Maybe in the United States?

PS: Would love to, however, although we have products out in the public domain we are keeping our powder dry for our regarding book signings etc. But it is a goal.

14) LM: Where can your readers and fans find out more about you? Do you have a Web site, forum, or fan page?

PS: We have a basic blogger site called “All kinds of everything.” It features some of our books and other neat stuff that can be found on Amazon.com. Cadre Stab, Kitten, Tigers Bedtimetales and our adventure story The Shard live happily on lulu.com

15) LM: Do you have any comments on this interview? What do you think of Literary Magic's Writer Spotlight?

PS: We are both very grateful to LM for this opportunity to be interviewed and hopefully gave the readers an insight into how productive a writing partnership can be, it might not suit all writers but as a team the support we get from each other keeps us at it.

We would like to again thank Rocky for both the interview and the existence of LM which in our opinion is a beacon amongst the other supposed writers sites.

LM: Thank you, Literary Magic. LM

Writer Spotlight: Winter Issue (2007-2008)

Writer Spotlight

For our Winter Issue, Literary Magic has chosen:

   Geoff Anderson

Author of The Legend of Aranrhod

    The Literary Magic Writer Spotlight for Winter 2007 is Geoff Anderson, author of the novel The Legend of Aranrhod. Only a few months after his book’s publication, Geoff has sold nearly 1,000 copies. And he did all the marketing himself. How? He shares his secrets. Gives advice for other novelists. And, he explains what his story is about, its theme and how he blends both spiritual beliefs--magic and religious--into the story of The Legend of Aranrhod. See Literary Magic’s Review of Geoff’s book here. In the exclusive interview below, Literary Magic’s Editor went one on one with this Issue’s Writer Spotlight.

Writer Spotlight: Questions for Geoff Anderson

1) LM (Literary Magic magazine): What other kinds of writing do you do? Do you write solely novels, or do you delve into nonfiction, too?

GA (Geoff Anderson): I am an Associate Writer with the Anglican Department of the international publishers, Redemptorist Publications. I write Christian worship material for them, including 5-minute homilies.

2) LM: What fills your day? What is your profession?

GA: For the past five years I have organised the UK tours of a 6-voice choral group from Russia called The St Petersburg Blagovest Ensemble. I find venues for them and drive them from gig to gig, sharing with them in the hospitality of the hosts. This year we had two tours, so I was on the road for a total of nine weeks. Obviously, this occupies a lot of my time.

The remainder of my days are filled by my writing (for Redemptorist Publications, for Literary Magic, and for pleasure) and televised sports, mainly cricket and tennis.

My profession is primarily a writer, secondly an impressario, thirdly an entertainer.

3) LM: Give us a brief biography of your life.

GA: I majored in French, and attended Exeter University (Devon, England) from the age of 19 until I was 26. I gained an MA, but abandoned my Doctorate studies, with the finishing post in sight. This was prompted by reading Dr Zhivago in Paris. I dropped out, to live in the Alternative Society of the late 1960s. I co-founded an arts-crafts cooperative in Liverpool, England, called Open Projects, in which we made furniture to finance our artistic pursuits - mainly writing and translating drama. Paul McCartney's cousin played in one of my productions, that's how 'alternative' we were!

Then I became a clergyman in the Church of England, serving four parishes in 28 years of full-time ministry. Not such a strange transition, since all religions offer an 'alternative society'. And the rector of a parish needs to be an impressario, entertainer and a writer!

I met and married my wife, Lynn, in Liverpool, at that time. She is American, so I have visited the US many times, all over. We have one daughter, three sons and three grandchildren.

4) LM: What are your dreams, your goals in life?

GA: Excellent question. We all need dreams. Mine is simple: to write a bestseller (if I haven't already done so!).

5) LM: What is your book, The Legend of Aranrhod, about?

GA: I like novels with many layers, so that a variety of people can enjoy them, and I hope this applies to The Legend Of Aranrhod.

At one level it is a traditional adventure story. Three children (and a dog) have to find and assemble an ancient artefact before the bad guys find it and use its magical powers to their own evil ends. Carys, the heroine, a 13-yr-old Welsh girl, bears the name of the Welsh moon goddess, Aranrhod, who was reputed to be the mother of Merlin. Legend says that a bearer of this name, passed down the female line, will one day help defeat a great evil.

At the beginning of the story, it appears that the chosen Aranrhod is going to be Carys's mystical mother, but it turns out to be Carys. This is unfortunate because Carys doesn't believe in the legend, nor in anything magical. How is Carys going to use the goddess's gift of Finding if she doesn't believe? Part of the answer lies in the friends she makes, but also in Carys's own response to events, of which there are many! The reader embarks on a helter-skelter journey to a climax that is both miraculous and extremely satisfying.

At a philosophical level, the story concerns the meeting - even the merging - of two spiritualities, the biblical and the mythical.

The story suggests that God's staff, which he gave to Moses and Aaron to rescue Israel from Egypt - Aaron's Rod - was in fact brought to Britain with the Grail. Merlin got hold of it and buried it in a rock. King Arthur withdrew it and used it to resist the marauding Saxons. The Rod then 'became' the sword Excalibur in medieval accounts, when the history was reworked as legend. Merlin hid the Rod for Aranrhod's chosen one to find many centuries later.

The merging of the two spiritualities in a miraculous artefact is important, for Aaron's Rod drives the whole plot, but far more significant is the merging of these two spiritualities in the very person of Carys, the 13-yr-old Welsh heroine of the story. For while Carys has inherited a goddess's name and the legend that goes with it, she holds in her heart a straightforward Christian faith, learned in the chapel of Pastor Lewis.

Branwen sends Carys away, believing she will be in danger from the great evil if she stays at home on the farm. She sends her to live with English relatives in a city called Worcester, just over the border in England. Stephen is the new dean of the cathedral there. So the traditional biblical spirituality will be strong here. However, Stephen and Helen's only daughter, Bethany, believes in everything magical and mythical, and so the balance of forces is maintained. Zach, the son of one of the cathedral canons, forms a bridge between Carys's scepticism about magic and Bethany's gullibility. He is open to believe in anything, but requires evidence first.

And so everyone in the story is placed somewhere on the axis of spirituality, between biblical belief and belief in magic. I hope this prompts people to question where they belong on this axis, to think about what they believe.

At a third level, the psychological level, the story tells of a girl caught between childhood and adolescence. Carys is the prophesied Finder who is meant to save the world from disaster, but viewed from this third, psychological angle, the only thing Carys is desperate to find is her father, whom she needs to lead her into adulthood. By this interpretation, Balimm the demon is her anti-father, the adult of her nightmares, representing all her fears about adulthood, which looms like a black hole waiting to swallow her, later symbolised by the well. Other things take on symbolic significance, as one would expect in a psychological interpretation. Thus, the Rod is the key to finding her father, whom she sees whenever she finds another piece of it. The swing is a symbol of the childhood she can never return to. This is why the girl on the swing on the book's cover is neither the child Carys nor the teenaged Carys, but a mixture of both, and the white circle in the corner can be seen either as the moon or as the hole at the top of a well - with Carys at the bottom, on her swing, looking up to the light.

I believe that even if readers aren't consciously aware of the various levels of interpretation, they subconsciously register them and find the story therefore a lot richer and more satisfying. A large part of all stories speak to us at a subconscious level, for that is what makes them so powerful.

6) LM: How do you write your stories? How do you go about crafting them?

GA: That's interesting, because it's easy to assume that the only way to write a story is to think of a plot first. But I happen to think good characters and locations are more important. We all know there are only seven plot outlines anyway, and the one you choose, and the detail of its development, is better determined by the characters and locations than the other way round. Think about it: in real life, people are born and grow up in a place before 'stuff happens' to them.

So first of all, I think of people and places I'd like to write a story about, and it's amazing how the nature of these characters and locations can begin to suggest story lines. Thus, with my novel, I knew I wanted to write a story about a Welsh teenage girl who lived in the part of Pembrokeshire where the bluestone was quarried for Stonehenge. And since most interesting stories involve the meeting of opposites, I knew I wanted her to make friends with an English girl, living in an ordinary English city. Just from this simple meeting of opposites, all kinds of plot lines can flow.

Then, as seeds of a plot begin forming, I write odd scenes between characters. I won't know where these scenes will fit in the final draft, and they may end up being ditched. As the plot grows, I do a timeline to show where the obstacles come and the 'big production numbers', so I'm getting the pacing right. And I'm one who believes it's important to know the ending before you get there! So the fascinating thing is that scenes or chapters do not have to be written in chronological order - just like when a movie is made, they don't shoot it in order. That's why the continuity person is so important on a film set. It's easy to get confused about what the characters know or don't know. One exercise I do when I've got a reasonably final draft is go through the story from page one, listing What We Learn In This Chapter. And I write down the names of the characters who 'learn this' as well. So I can easily go back and check and cross reference between chapters. I uncover non-sequitors and continuity errors by this means.

7) LM: What inspired you to write, specifically in the light\high fantasy genre?

GA: Because I wanted to write about spiritual questions and matters of belief, and magic is a vivid context in which to set such abstract matters and make them real. That's why I prefer to call my novel's genre 'magical realism' rather than 'fantasy', because any magic that happens takes place in ordinary, real life, not in a fantasy world. I've not heard the term 'light fantasy' before and I rather like it!

8) LM: What is your advice for other fiction writers? What advice can you offer other novelists who are trying to get published?

GA: Some people advise would-be writers to read, read and read some more. I'm not so sure. Reading the classics might reduce your chances of getting published, for most of the great writers would have their synopses and three chapters rejected nowadays. "A page just to describe the FOG, Mr Dickens?!" for example, would be most publishers' response as they reject Bleak House.

And if the aim is to learn how to write with style, whose style do you pick? Of course, reading good prose is valuable, but I don't think simply reading is enough if your aim is to learn to write. How do surgeons learn their skill? Not by meeting lots of bodies, but by dissecting them. Taking successful novelists apart can be very useful. Analysing the development of their characters, the intervals at which new characters are introduced, the balance of dialogue to action and narrative, what techniques they use to create suspense, how they use humour, and so on. Every bestseller is in fact a manual on successful writing technique, if you know what to look for.

Write primarily for YOU. Write what YOU want to write about and in YOUR style. Don't copy anyone and above all don't think you can write something which everyone will like. When I say write in your style, however, I don't mean ungrammatically and with your own spelling! There are rules in writing prose and they won't cramp your style but help it to glow. I took a 2 year correspondence course on Writing for Children and Teenagers (American actually) and I learned so much which freed me to write, because I learned the mechanics and techniques of writing.

I can't really advise on getting published because I've never tried. If you go down that route, all I do know is that you have to persevere and be blest with a great deal of patience and self-confidence. I chose to be an author-publisher, partly because I'm a control freak. I wanted a say in every aspect of my book, including the book's appearance, cover design, blurb, etc, right down to the colour on the back cover - it took my publisher and I a day and a half to agree on that! It costs money, but I've recouped all my capital outlay and the cost of printing my first 1,000 copies. I went for the large number, rather than, say, 250 or 500 to start with, because I wanted them done by the normal process of litho printing, rather than by digital printing.

9) LM: Your books have already sold hundreds of copies, yet you do most of the marketing on your own. What is your secret? What marketing tips and techniques can published author learn from your success?

GA: Yes, I'm very pleased to have sold over 800 copies in 7 months. The first thing you learn is a negative: no matter how popular a person you thought you were, nor how huge your extended family, you don't get rid of many books to friends and family. I mean, not hundreds and hundreds. If your book is going to sell in any decent numbers, complete strangers are going to have to buy it - yes, and pay their hard-earned money for it!

It is a proven fact that the most common reason why people buy a book is personal recommendation. 'Hey Fred! You've just got to read this book!' sells more books certainly than advertisements in magazines or the press. The problem is that a lot of times Fred will borrow the book from his mate! I've sold over 800 but I guarantee more like 2,000 have READ it. But no matter, because ever reader is a potential seller. About 10% of my sales have been via www.amazon.co.uk and all of these sales must have been to people who heard about the book from friends.

And this leads me to the most sobering fact of marketing any product - good quality wins through, while poor quality fades away. The biggest seller of your book in the long run will be YOUR BOOK. Of course, not everyone will like even a good quality book, as I said earlier - you can't please everybody. But if your book isn't loved by at least one section of the reading public, you're in trouble. But don't decide beforehand who should like it. Get it out there, into as many different readers' hands as possible and then wait to be surprised. THEY like it? Really? Well, well.

I started my marketing by sending about 20 copies free to people who I thought might, if they liked it, enthuse about it. These key people might not necessarily offer to sell copies - though a few did - but just enthuse to their friends about it. That starts the snowball rolling.

When you market your own book, you don't get national exposure, so the first rule is 'Maximise your local area'. You'd be surprised how much people love having a homegrown author. And I've been surprised how little people care that you've published the book yourself. It is a proper book and you're having the nerve to sell it, so it can't be rubbish - right? Right! You'd never be able to show your face again if it was rubbish. So I'm not talking about friends and family here, but all the people who live in your 'area', however you define that. Town, village, city neighbourhood, parish, county. Arrange a booksigning in the area, publicise it well, stressing you're local, and see what happens. I did that in the independent bookshop in the town where I spent the last 11 years of my ministry, and I sold over 70 books. Your local high school, college, your church. My alma mater high school has bought 25 signed copies to present to students as prizes.

The second rule is 'Be local everywhere'. So wherever you've lain your head in your state or nation, maximise your connection to that place - an obvious one is your alma mater college. As an alumnus or alumna of that college, you can claim a belonging to the area (and obviously the college).

I don't know whether American high schools welcome Visiting Authors, but they do in the UK. I've visited three schools so far and children have bought about 50 copies. You can see how these figures begin to mount up.

Stage a big Launch of your book. This is where it's best to draw those friends and relatives in, so they feel they're being treated to something and not just being taken advantage of. Try and stage it in an attractive location, lay on games and treasure hunts for children, and some decent snacks. And send out a press release. I had my Launch in June in one of the locations in my novel, so people had the added thrill of actually being in the Old Palace where some of the action takes place, and a treasure hunt led them over to the cathedral which is an even more significant location. I sold about 50 books there - 60 people came.

Why stop at one launch? We had another launch four months later, in October, in another Bishops' Palace, this time in Devon, the county where I went to university and where I have a great sense of belonging. A big fan of the book organised this second Launch, selling books as tickets to the event, which was a stroke of genius. We had workshops: painting a scene from the book; chatting with the guy who did the publishing for me about the process of author-publishing; and of course a Meet the Author workshop. There was also a puppet show. So, as I say, make it an entertaining event centred around your book - and around you, if you can bear it. Altogether this Launch resulted in 64 sales. But these events are about more than numbers, for they make contacts, new friends, all kinds of ripples spread out. This Launch is reported in the Social Diary of the county's biggest glossy monthly magazine, in the coming December issue.

It was such a success, we are beginning to plan a third launch, this time in a NE neighbourhood of London.

Try to get your book stocked in as many bookshops as possible, but it's not easy. The chains such as Borders usually won't give author-publishers time of day, because they operate on a system whereby publishers pay for shelf space and for special offers, etc. And independent bookshops usually have less space to spare and survive by specialising in certain types of books and give priority to local authors - so beat down the door of those where you live. And the trouble is, sales from bookshops of anything but bestsellers and celebrity books are painfully slow and small. I've had books in about half a dozen bookshops for months - including in two branches of a chain (Waterstones) but total sales from them all is probably in single figures still. So don't be too depressed if bookshops aren't interested.

I finish this section by stressing two things: your book and you.

Firstly your book: if you believe in your book and have had positive responses from strangers (the responses of family and friends do not count - either way, for they can be unreasonably negative as well as overly positive!), then let your book do some of the work for you by making sure it's out there. Out of the 800+ that I've sold, over 100 weren't sold at all but given away. I never hesitate to give copies to libraries, schools, people of influence (eg Rocky Reichman), people who offer to review it (eg Rocky Reichman!), and so on. It's better out there for free than sitting in your garage earning potential money.

And secondly, you: you'd be amazed by how interested people are to meet a novelist. I think it's partly because a great many people harbour a secret ambition to write a novel themselves. They ask a lot of the questions in this questionnaire, like how do you set about writing it, and where do you get your ideas? So as well as the book, spread yourSELF around. Try and arrange bookings to speak at writers' circles, book groups, schools, church fellowships, libraries and so on. Don't be shy - they really want to meet you!

10) LM: What can readers of The Legend of Aranrhod expect in the future? What's next, a sequel?

GA: I have just begun thinking about a sequel. The challenge is to make it sufficiently similar that readers of The Legend will enjoy the continuity, but sufficiently different that they won't find it tedious.

11) LM: What reactions (praise, reviews) has The Legend of Aranrhod received thus far?

GA: Rather than quote huge chunks from reviews and reactions, let me summarise a few of the positive and negative remarks that have been made.

POSITIVES: The fast pace; the humour; the merging of biblical history with magical myth; the children's relationships; the setting of magical events within ordinary reality; the structure of the plot; the suspense; brilliant ending; great characters; and finally, lots of comments about the story itself, how it is gripping, ingenious, crackling with ideas, and unputdownable.

NEGATIVES: The pace is TOO fast; the scary bits aren't scary enough; there are too MANY ideas - it should have been written as two or even three books; it's too short; the balance between horror and humor is sometimes awry; loose ends unexplained.

The comments about the pace are a good example of what I was saying about not pleasing everyone. What can you do when some people say they love the fast pace and others say the pace is too fast?

And who has commented? A bishop; the National Children's Work Adviser for the Church of England; a Greek biochemist; a farmer's wife; an 8-yr-old boy; an 88-yr-old man; teenage girls; the editor of an international e-zine based in New York; and most recently the editor of Anglicanism's main weekly newspaper, the Church Times, which represents my first national exposure. His children loved it.

12) LM: American and British grammar differ in subtle ways. As you begin to market your books in the United States, will you be releasing a revised American edition or will readers be purchasing the original?

GA: I don't think Americans would thank me for Americanising the spelling and grammar. Reading books set in another country and written in another version of our common language is part of their charm. English people reading The Legend of Aranrhod find the Welsh names as mysterious as if they were written in Greek, but that's part of its charm for English people too.

13) LM: Will you be having any book signings, contests, readings or events in the near future? In the United Kingdom? Across Europe? Maybe in the United States?

GA: I've already mentioned the London Launch which will be in early 2008. I will be speaking to the children's club in my local city library, next year also. I shall also be visiting a lot of schools. The Greek biochemist I mentioned is trying to get the book published in Greece - so there might be some personal appearances in Athens. I really think I would need a publisher to take on the book in the States, for it is so huge! If a publisher did so, then of course I would support him or her in every way I could.

14) LM: Where can your readers and fans find out more about you? Do you have a Web site, forum, or fan page?

GA: I have an Author's Blog on www.aranrhod.wordpress.com and everyone is welcome to visit and make a comment or ask a question on any of the pages. You can order copies of The Legend Of Aranrhod by just asking me to send you one or more!

15) LM: Do you have any comments on this interview? What do you think of Literary Magic's Writer Spotlight?

GA: I have been very impressed by the questions in this interview. Thorough, to the point, and challenging - they have prompted me to have fresh thoughts in places, which is pretty good considering how long I've been thinking about all these matters!

Literary Magic's Writer Spotlight is a brilliant idea. It serves three valuable purposes: it gives exposure to a writer, always appreciated; its searching questions may prompt the writer to see old topics in a new light; and it may help other writers by the sharing of experiences.

I'm truly honoured to be in this issue's Spotlight and I want to thank the editor, Rocky Reichman, for inviting me, and thank you all for listening to me.

LM: Thank you, Literary Magic. LM

Writer Spotlight: Fall Issue (2007)

For our Fall Issue, Literary Magic has chosen:

                         Alan Campbell

                     Author of Scar Night

    Alan has had great success with his debut book, Scar Night. He’s received positive reviews from publications including Publisher’s Weekly, BookReporter.com and of course, Literary Magic (this magazine). His debut book has been seen in The New York Times Book Review too (as an advertisement--but nevertheless praiseworthy).

    The interview was conducted by Rocky Reichman, Literary Magic Editor-in-Chief. Read our questions. Study his answers. Find solutions to writing, advice for debut authors, and learn all about Alan Campbell and his new book, Scar Night.

Questions for Alan Campbell

1) LM (Literary Magic magazine): Is Scar Night your first book? Have you written anything before?

AC (Alan Campbell): Scar Night was the first story I'd written since leaving high school.
It turned out to be a fairly long one. I wrote a couple of short
stories afterwards, because I thought it important to build up a
writing CV while I looked for an agent. But I was lucky enough to be
offered representation quickly, and so those stories remain in a
drawer somewhere.

2) LM: What did you do before you began writing? What is your current profession?

AC: Before I started writing I worked as a software engineer on the Grand
Theft Auto video games, mostly coding but occasionally involved in
design. Now I'm a full time writer.

3) LM: What is a brief biography of your life?

AC: I was born in Falkirk, Scotland, and went to Edinburgh University.
After a string of dull but necessary jobs (supermarkets, call centres,
factories), I became involved in video game development. Eventually I
was able to take some time away from coding to write my first book.

4) LM: What are your aspirations: your dreams and goals?

AC:I'd like to continue to write, although probably in a warmer climate.
I'm not really bothered about awards. I'd much rather somebody was
late for work because they couldn't put my book down the night before.

5) LM: What is your book, Scar Night, about?

AC: At its heart, the book is about an angel who is forbidden to fly. But
there are other tales woven into it: a father's quest to avenge his
daughter's murder; an assassin's search for catharsis. The setting
also plays an important part in the story. Because the city hangs
over a seemingly bottomless abyss, the people who live there have
conflicting views about what really lurks below.

6) LM: How do you write your stories? How do you go about crafting them?

AC: I try to write individual scenes from different character's point of
view. This technique is helpful for characterization, I think, not
only because you can get inside the viewpoint character's head, but
also because the reader can sense a character's mood by the way the
scene is described (I hope). I have a rough idea of the plot before I
write, but as the characters develop, I've found that they often take
the story in directions I hadn't originally planned.

7) LM: Who has inspired you?

AC: Probably George R. R. Martin more than anyone else. Although I'm a
huge fan of Stephen Donaldson's anti-heroes and M John Harrison's
prose.

8) LM: What made you want to write, specifically Dark Fiction?

AC: It wasn't a conscious choice. I'm drawn to dark, gritty fantasy much
more than the lighter stuff, so I suppose it was inevitable that I'd
write that type of fiction. Scar Night became darker each time I
rewrote it. I think it was because the more my characters suffered
the more I felt for them and wanted them to fight back.

9) LM: What is your advice for other writers, fiction writers, especially?

AC: Write the sort of literature you love to read, and write every day.
That's probably the best advice I can think of.

10) LM: What advice can you offer other novelists who are trying to get published?

AC: You need to be able to look at your work with a critical eye. If
you've finished a manuscript, set it aside for a few weeks (months
would be better) before going back to it with your editor's hat on. Be
ruthless with your revisions. It is hard work and you might have to
struggle through many drafts: I rewrote Scar Night seven times before
I felt comfortable sending it to an agent. Once you've polished your
work as much as possible, find out which agents represent authors who
have written similar books to your own and send your manuscript to
them.

11) LM: What can readers of Scar Night expect from your next book in the
Deepgate Codex?

AC: The next book opens up a wider world around Deepgate and continues the
journey of those characters who managed to survive the various
machinations, murders and battles in the first book. Readers can
expect things to become a lot more difficult for these characters.

12) LM: What are your plans for the future? What books do you want to
write? Which genres?

AC: I have a lot of ideas for books I'd like to write in other genres, but
those can wait until the Deepgate Codex is finished. Right now I'm
very happy writing fantasy.

13) LM: What reactions (praise, reviews) has Scar Night received?

AC: The reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, I'm pleased to say. I
was very nervous about the response from readers (it's a scary thing
to put a book out into the world), but the reaction to Scar Night has
been wonderful so far.

14) LM: Who is your favorite fictional character?

AC: Argh. This is a difficult question. In fantasy, I'm a huge fan of
George R R Martin's characters, especially Tyrion Lannister in "A Song
of Fire and Ice." And there are so many wonderfully OTT inhabitants
of Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast that it's hard to choose between them.

15) LM: Will you be having any book signings, contests, readings or events
in the near future? Any in the United States?

AC: I hope to be in the US early next year. My agent and I are planning a
competition in the near future. Details to be announced.

16) LM: Where can your readers and fans find out more about you? Do you
have a Web site, forum, fan page etc.?

AC: My website is www.alanmcampbell.co.uk, and I have a blog at
anurbanfantasy.blogspot.com.

17) LM: Do you have any comments on this interview? What do you think of
Literary Magic's Writer Spotlight?

AC: I think the magazine is great and I thank you for your interest and
for choosing me for your Writer Spotlight.

LM: Thank you, Literary Magic. LM

Writer Spotlight: Summer Issue (2007)

For this Summer Issue Writer Spotlight, Literary Magic has selected:

Althea Yow

Poet and Author of Mission Accomplished: A Collection of Poems for Children

This Issue, Literary Magic Editor talk with Poet Althea Yow about her poetry collection, "Mission Accomplished: A Collection of Poems for Children." Read the interview here, to gain incite into this author's poetry, her life; learn how she writes, how she got her book published.

      LM (Literary Magic): Is Mission Accomplished your first book?

      AY (Althea Yow): Yes.

LM: Have you written anything before?

AY: Yes! Poems for adults; published in the Toronto Sun.

LM: What did you do before you began writing?

AY: I was a teacher and private tutor.

LM: What is your current profession?

AY: Sometimes in-home tutor.

LM: Give a brief biography of your life.

AY: I was born in Georgetown, Guyana and educated at Cyril Potter College of Education and the University of Guyana. I worked as a teacher for many years. I taught at two prestigious schools—Stella Maris Primary School and St. Stanislaus College. I was also a part-time author and home-school teacher.

        In 1995, I immigrated to Canada where, for a few years, I worked as an in-home tutor. In 1998, I began writing poems and short stories for adults and children. Mission Accomplished is my first published work.

        I live in Ontario, Canada with my husband Errol.

LM: What are your aspirations, your dreams?

AY: To become more involved in charitable work and child sponsorship.

LM: What is Mission Accomplished about?

AY: Mission accomplished: A Collection of Poems for Children, is a book that focuses on a wide range of themes that are expressed from a child’s point of view. The poems speak about perserverance and personal appearance, compassion and accomplished missions, curiosity and creativity, laughter and tears, cares and personal fears in the early years, lost and found, and gaining a few extra pounds.

LM: How do you write poems?

From memory of my own childhood perceptions and observation of children.

LM: Who inspired you?

AY: The children that I taught.

LM: What made you want to write, specifically, children’s poetry?

AY: My childhood days (which have stuck resolutely in my imagination), coupled with the experiences that I gained from years of teaching and tutoring children from all walks of life and of all ages.

LM: What is your advice for other writers, poets especially?

AY: Read, read and reread.

        Write, write and rewrite.

LM: What advice can you offer other poets who are trying to get published?

AY: Don’t give up.

LM: What can readers of Mission Accomplished expect from your next book?

AY: Lots of fun and laughter for preschoolers.

LM: What are your plans for the future?

AY: To write more books.

LM: What other books do you want to write?

AY: Poetry and short stories for adults and children.

LM: What feedback (praise, reviews) has Mission Accomplished received?

AY: Praise from its readers.

LM: Who is your favorite writer?

AY: Charlotte Eronte.

LM: Will you be having any book signings, readings, contests or events in the near future?

AY: Yes; book readings and signings.

LM: Do you have any comments on this interview?

AY: Yes. The interview is direct, engaging and refreshing, for it allows the writer to cat about herself or her craft; to offer advice and encouragement to promising writers and poets and to give valuable information to her readers.

LM: What do you think of the Literary Magic writer Spotlight?

AY: The mere fact that it is shining the spotlight on new, emerging writers is commendable.

LM: Thank you, Literary Magic. LM

Writer Spotlight: Spring (2007)

For Fall Issue Writer Spotlight, Literary Magic has selected:

Robert (Bob) Ivy

Editor-in-Chief and Author

Editors-in-Chief: Face to Face

Literary Magic recently spoke with Robert (Bob) Ivy, Editor-in-Chief of the monthly construction magazine Architectural Record and Vice President and Editorial Director of McGraw-Hill Construction Media. Rocky Reichman, Editor-in-Chief of the quarterly publication Literary Magic (yes, this magazine) conducted the interview. Get advice about the literary world, as Editor Ivy takes us into the world of publishing and editing. Learn about what goes into publishing a magazine, and how to get your work in one. Read our interview and be the first to unlock these Editors-in-Chiefs’ secrets!

LMM (Literary Magic Magazine): What is your position at Mcgraw-Hill Construction?

BI (Bob Ivy): I am the Editor-in-Chief of Architectural Record and Vice President ad Editorial Director of Mcgraw-Hill Construction Media. I have been the Editor-in-Chief since October of 1996 and Editorial Director for several [three] years.

LMM: What is a short biography of your life? What are your credentials?

BI: I was born in the South and went to public high school. I was always interested in the larger world. My mom had a bookstore; I read voraciously as a kid and authors would be there. My hero was Willy Morris (editor of Harper’s Magazine in New York). I lived in Misisippi, a place rich in culture, only ninety minutes away from William Faulkner and surrounded by great authors. I wanted to be a writer so I went to study English. I also like etymology and using words and language. I received my English degree then was an intelligence officer in the United States Navy. After that, I went to study Architecture in Tulane school. Then, I launched my adult career. Simultaneously I wrote and did architecture (as a writer I had my subject matter--writing and doing it at the same time). I wrote for many publications, from regional free ones to national magazines. I became a contributing editor to Architecture Magazine, which enabled me to know a generation of young architects. I’ve written two books, and started my own Architecture magazine. Then, I became the Editor-in-Chief of Architectural Record, because of my degree and experience in being a writer and editor and in publishing and writing. Being an Editor-in-Chief is the greatest job.

LMM: What have you written, books in particular? Whart awards have you won?

BI: I have written hundreds of magazine articles, mostly in the Architecture category. I guest-edited a Japanese magazine. Written for consumer publications and shelter magazines. I’ve written articles on design, occasionally humorous pages. I have written for websites, I continue to blog. I write for Metacritic [Metacritic.com] and write movie reviews, written chapters, forewords to many Architecture books. I am currently writing a preface on Architecture for Misisippi Encyclopedia. I will write a foreword to another book. I have written two books, one about Architecture and one a novel. My non-fiction book is about Fay Jones (AIA Press, 1991), I won the Wittenberg award, best book of the year, from it, and I was given the award for scholarship and production values. The book is already in its third edition, currently in print with Mcgraw-Hill. I won the Rold medal. I have written a novel called The Fault, and have written many other things. I wrote poetry (published) but not always. I had a one-act play produced at a university—sitting through it was most extruciatong.

LMM: For writers, do you receommend contacting a publisher or agent first if they would like to sell their work?

BI: An agent. Except for Art books.

LMM: What do you like most about being an Editor-in-Chief? What do you hate most?

BI: It’s the most fulfilling job I could find. I love the subject (architecture), exercising judgement about it, having strong opinions, seeing what happens about the world. I like the association: getting to talk to the architects. The physical act of making a magazine, choosing the cover. Active planning. It’s direction, there’s content, there’s diversity. The most difficult part is the money and people, because they have a unique dynamic, and writers are high strong [we should admit it, most of us are]. The money because we’re part of a large corporation [Mcgraw-Hill], and it makes all the decisions.

LMM: What do you think makes a good article for a magazine, your publication in particular? What must it contain? What kind of writing should it be?

BI: Architectural Record is unique, for a preferred audience. Most American architects read it, largest in the world (300,000 people probably read it). Fifty percent of our content is graphic—extremely important for attracting their attention and keeping it. The other fifty percent is verbal: descriptive, explanatory (writing)—it isn’t extremely engaging. Twenty five percent of the content is engaging, like the Editorial or Critique sections (Opinion).

LMM: McGraw-Hill Construction alone publishes dozens of magazines. Who does the acquisitions for Architectural Record and some of your other magazines, like the weekly publication ENR?

BI: Almost every story is assigned—freelance writers. For acquisitions, we plan it collectively, a month’s assignments are discussed, and individual editors are responsible for a story, whether they write it or assign it to a freelance writer, following up on it, receiving it, flowing it, editing it.

LMM: What are some of the differences between a weekly magazine and a monthly magazine? Have you worked on both, and if so, which do you like more?

BI: ENR is a weekly; I’m the editorial director of it. That pace is extremely demanding—a whole new product every seven days. Staff is larger, pace is quicker. Architectural Record equals the weekly magazine.

LMM: What goes in to preparing the next issue of Architectural Record and getting it out? What work must be done? What are you responsible for?

BI: It’s like a making a book every month (making and publishing it). Some issues have 400 pages. It’s complicated, because so much of it is graphic, color, artwork. In a thirty-day cycle, must assign and require top-quality writing. Requires rights to publish best architecture photograph (each on needs a contract). Must coordinate it with the Marketing part. Then have to bring it into New York, more and more electronically. Editing is done, and it is then shipped electronically to the printer in Virginia.

LMM: What is your favorite food?

BI: I’m from the South, so barbeque, a country dinner: butter beans, fresh tomatoes, corn, corn bread.

LMM: What advice and tips do you have for others? What advice can you give to writers who want to get published or editors who either want to start or run a magazine?

BI: Easy: Write. For a magazine: Work, at any level. Just throw yourself in it and do it, and gain experience with it. I got most experience from my high school magazine: I have done layout, type, headlines. Everything counts; there’s no lost time. So, if doing copyediting as a volunteer for a shopping mall magazine, then do it—everything counts. Then, by a series of small moves you get to where you’re going.

LMM: What are your goals and dreams? What books do you plan on writing in the future?

BI: A book about Architecture, but one with an overview of world culture. Another novel too.

LMM: Do you have any comments on this interview? What do you think of the Literary Magic in general?

BI: Love the interview. Very insightful. As complete an interview can be. I love the idea of Literary Magic.