Writing is a passion. Publishing is a business.

CATHRYN CONSTABLE


Interview with CATHRYN CONSTABLE
 
Cathryn Constable is a journalist whose articles have appeared in Tatler and the London Sunday Times among other publications. THE WOLF PRINCESS is her first novel. She is married with three children and lives in London, England. 
 
What are you reading right now?
 
TIME REBORN by Lee Smolin. Smolin is a physicist and is arguing (I think) for the laws which govern the universe to operate within time. I’m also reading a biography of Sir Isaac Newton. Physics is on my mind.
 
What first sparked your interest in writing?
 
Reading.
 
What do you love the most about writing? The least?
 
When I’m alone and in my study and writing, even if I’m not particularly pleased at what I’m writing, I feel content. I think I’ve always had a ‘Rapunzel’ complex...a tower, solitude, no interruptions.
 
The thing I like least is when I can’t get to my desk. I’m really happiest in my own world.
 
Tell us a little bit about your writing process.
 
I have a pinboard at home and I find images in magazines or on tumblrs that I find interesting. I can’t say why they attract me, and I don’t ask. I print them out and put them up and somehow, even though they might start off being quite disparate, a pattern starts to emerge. For example, on my pinboard at the moment are images of a velvet manicure, a carved angel, a girl in school uniform standing in an open window, and a sheet of alchemical symbols. When I start writing, I don’t necessarily know how these things fit together, but after spending some time thinking about them, a pattern emerges.
 
I aim to write every day (of course); the minute the house is empty, I make a cup of coffee and sit down at my desk. At the moment, the day goes very quickly because I am writing a first draft of my second novel, THE WHITE TOWER. There are times during the day when things are light and easy and the work seems to shape itself; other times it is like doing Geography homework (with apologies to any Geographers). I’ve learned not to get panicked when things get a bit sticky: usually it means I’m not paying attention properly and need to slow down and listen and watch.
 
What are your passions?
 
My family. It’s odd because having children really does scupper you when it comes to writing. However, becoming a mother is an extraordinarily creative process, too. You have to pay attention really closely, which I think is good preparation for writing.
 
I read pretty much constantly...I would feel quite agitated without a book. But there are so many things I’m interested in. Basically, if you pay attention to anything it becomes fascinating.
 
What inspires you?
 
I’m not sure what inspires me. I know that I feel a sort of shiver of excitement whenever I encounter something wonderful...That might be a sentence someone has written or a piece of music. But I can become quite excited over a cup of coffee in the sunshine on a winter’s morning.
 
Why middle reader?
 
When you remember your own ten- or eleven-year old self, I think you probably have the purest expression of yourself. It’s that extraordinary transition from childhood to more than childhood and what happens to your mind and imagination in that time is quite remarkable. Also, I’m not sure I could write about diamonds, white wolves, and orphans in a way that would be appealing to an adult and if that was what I wanted to write about, it seemed writing for middle grade readers was a safer option.
 
How was THE WOLF PRINCESS born?
 
I read to my children a lot when they were younger. I found copies of the books I had enjoyed and it was a really lovely way to rediscover those stories. But we read a lot of current writers, too. Also, in my own reading, I had given up on almost everyone other than the Russians. I can’t say why, but nothing else appealed to me. So without realising it, I started writing a children’s story set in Russia.
 
Did THE WOLF PRINCESS require a lot of research?
 
I did spend some time looking at photographs of forgotten Russian palaces, but I think that was probably the only specific research I did. The rest of it came from years of reading that was not done as research.
 
The WOLF PRINCESS feels magical even though it’s not fantasy. Is that deliberate?
 
I didn’t make a conscious decision to make the novel feel magical. I wrote what I would have loved to have happened to me at that age. I think one of the disappointments of being a grown up is that there are no diamonds in the chandelier.
 
Did any specific fairy tales or folklore influence THE WOLF PRINCESS?
 
I collect old books of fairy tales, often because the illustrations are so beautiful. There is one Russian tale, Snegourochka, the Snow Maiden, which I think is one of the saddest stories ever... I used a quote from it in the book... but really, there was no one tale in particular.
 
Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
 
Read.

KALEENA FRAGA


Interview with KALEENA FRAGA

Kaleena Fraga is from Bainbridge Island, Washington. She graduated from Oberlin College in 2013 with a double major in History and French. Currently, she is spending a year in France teaching English in the small Normandy town of Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët.
 
What are you reading right now?

I just finished MADDADDAM by Margaret Atwood. It was the third in a series and really fantastic! I'm about to get started on THE LUMINARIES by Eleanor Catton. I’m also rereading HARRY POTTER in French, because I’m in France now and trying to immerse myself in the language.

What first sparked your interest in writing?

I don't remember a time in my life when I didn't write. Even before I knew how to hold a pencil, I loved telling stories. I was the kid who had dolls with detailed backstories and, of course, an imaginary pet dog/sidekick.

What do you love the most about writing? The least?

I love it when one idea leads to another, and another, and another, and I look down and I've been writing for an hour without realizing it. It's the feeling you get when the ideas come so quickly you can barely type fast enough. Basically, I love to be immersed in a story. I do and don't like starting things. On the one hand it's exciting and new and that can be a great feeling - but to find the right inspiration, the right way to approach the story, to think about the characters and their journey takes time (sometimes a lot of time) and I'd rather just start writing than over-think things.

Tell us a little about your writing process.

I take an idea and run with it. I read about how some authors have detailed outlines of what will happen in their novels/stories...I’m not organized enough for that. I've always just written and written and surprised myself with what appeared on the paper.

What are your passions?

Writing and reading, of course. I'm passionate about history, especially presidential history, and I have a budding passion for long runs.

What inspires you?

The people around me, things I see on the news or online, and questions I have about the world that I try to understand by asking my characters to struggle and figure it out for me. Writing, for me, is a way to understand the world. If I don't get something, maybe I'll understand it better through the eyes of one of my characters.

Why speculative fiction?

I really like the blurry line between fact and fiction. With speculative fiction you can either stay close to that line or go much, much further. I prefer to write stories where, among the characters living normal lives, one thing is slightly off. I love how much freedom speculative fiction gives to the writer to explore that one, strange thing.

As both a writer and reader, do you prefer either science fiction or fantasy over the other?

I prefer science fiction because the "science" part can be discreet - normal people, normal lives, one odd occurrence. That being said, I am waiting along with the rest of the world for George R.R. Martin to finish up with the next GAME OF THRONES novel!

How was “Island of Dreams, Island of Fears” born?

I think I was fifteen or sixteen when I wrote "Island of Dreams, Island of Fears." I was travelling with my family when I first saw the news coverage of the tsunami in Sri Lanka and it really stuck with me: the incredible tragedy of the event, the sheer destructive power of nature, and all the stories that the people who survived started to tell. It made me think about how sudden death can be. So I took that idea and tried to explore it through my story.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Just to write, write, write. And read!

LAURIE GRAFF


Interview with LAURIE GRAFF

Laurie Graff, author of the bestselling YOU HAVE TO KISS A LOT OF FROGS, has also written the novels LOOKING FOR MR. GOODFROG and THE SHIKSA SYNDROME. She’s also a contributor to NO KIDDING, COMPLAINT BOX NY TIMES, LIVE ALONE AND LIKE IT, IT’S A WONDERFUL LIE, and SCENES FROM A HOLIDAY.

What are you reading right now?
 
I just last night finished reading Ellen Burstyn’s autobiography, LESSONS IN BECOMING MYSELF. It is amazing how you think you know someone’s background and how blindsided you are by their persona. She really overcame huge familial obstacles alongside having a spirit that created a lucky streak. Of course no one’s life is linear, and the story of what she did to heal herself is compelling. She said something so astute that the moment we accept it (whatever it is) is the moment transformation begins.

What first sparked your interest in writing?

Nora Ephron, Carrie Fisher, and Tama Janowitz. I was reading all of those women in the 80s’ and just got into the whole “look inside the urban single girl’s head” and started to write down the stories I was telling to my friends. And they came out with a “voice” that was me, but not. It was a writer’s voice. Since I had been working up till then as a professional actress it was a pretty cool surprise.

What do you love the most about writing? The least?

I love when I get lost in it and hours go by and I had no idea how that even happened. And when that is not happening… well, I like that the least.

Tell us a little about your writing process.

I think about it as I’m walking, at the gym, running, on the subway, and then I go. It’s a movie in my head and I just let it spill. I don’t like to outline or make notes. I like to know what happens next and organically let it come out. There are points when I must write and organize but mainly I like to let it spill.

What are your passions?

Outdoor cafes, having wine anywhere near or on water, affection, great humor, food, beautiful environments, themed parties, fashion, the tradition of Judaism, New York City, theater, romance, and the great magic that can surprise us in life.

What inspires you?

Feelings I get from 70’s music. All the passions I just mentioned above. And people who manage to overcome their fears.
 
Did you know without a doubt what you would write about in your NO KIDDING essay or did you have a few topics from which you narrowed it down?

I did not know what I would be writing until I was writing it. But that first image of being up in the country at sixteen years old with my friend outside her bungalow hanging the laundry popped into my head when I sat down to write. And I kept from there.

Was if difficult writing about something so personal?

It was clarifying to discover I really felt that way. I love the personal essay. You don’t worry about plot twists; it is just making a point for what has already happened in life and how you already feel. My brother asked why anyone would want to share that, but to me it is encased in a literary package and so I don’t feel exposed. But I do feel I help share a point of view that is helpful and interesting to others.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Write. Write what you want and do it just for you. And then worry about whether or not it’s “something.” Just self-express.

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about yourself?

I wrote in my essay the best is yet to come and I really want that to be true!