Thomas A. Knight

This week's interview is with Thomas A. Knight who is celebrating the release of his debut novel: The Time Weaver.

You can find out more about Thomas and his efforts Here

And you can buy The Time Weaver for Kindle Here

TAS: Let's get the plug out of the way.  Tell us a little bit about the project you are currently promoting - who will be interested and why?

TAK: The Time Weaver is about an unlikely hero, an ordinary guy working an ordinary job in a small town in Iowa. When he gets in a car accident one day on his way home, that's when things get weird. The accident should have killed him, but instead, time stops, and he is left scared and confused, wandering through his frozen town. But he's not the only one who's noticed the anomaly in the flow of time, and two sides of a conflict in a parallel world send somebody to retrieve Seth and take him back to their world, believing that he is the last of a race that can control time. That's where Seth's adventures really begin, when he enters the world of Galadir and discovers that it was he that stopped time and he must learn to control his powers and fight in order to save a kingdom from annihilation. The story is action packed, and should appeal to gamers, role-players and all types of sci-fi and fantasy fans everywhere.

TAS: What aspects of being an author do you most enjoy?

TAK: Being able to enter my world, to live and breath the sights and sounds, to create new and interesting races, people and places. You can sit down and read a book, and get into the story, and even experience it to an extent. But until you've created it for yourself, you can never truly understand what it's like. There's a certain divinity to it, to the creation of all things in my worlds, but at the same time, some of it takes on a life of its own, and its really interesting to see how it grows and flourishes, or withers and dies.

TAS: What aspects of being an author do you least enjoy?

TAK: Losing a much loved character. It takes a lot of time and effort to bring a character to life, and sometimes those characters have accidents, or they do silly things, or sacrifice themselves in truly selfless acts for the greater good. But whatever the reason, it hurts each time I have to say goodbye to one of them. They may only be words on paper, but each one represents an act of imagination, of creation, a personality and almost a living breathing thing. It's tough to let go of them.

TAS: What moment as an author have you experienced that you are likely to remember 20 years from now (good or bad)?

TAK: The moment I wrote the last words in the first draft of my first book. It was a moment of triumph for me, representing hundreds of hours of time and effort, of struggle to get through the hard parts, and breezing through the easy parts. There was a certain finality to it, to suddenly realize that I'd written 108,200 words and completed a book.

TAS: What bad habits do you have when it comes to writing/promoting your books and/or what do you wish you could do better?

TAK: I don't think I've developed what I would call habits yet. I have a tendency when I'm writing to repeat the same words or phrases numerous times. This is something I work on cleaning up during editing, and something that my wonderful test readers are very enthusiastic to point out when I do it.

TAS: Do you have any authors that you try to emulate? Why or why not?

TAK: J. Robert King is one of my favourite authors, with his action driven books. I would very much like to be able to write like him.

TAS: Do you have clear 'heroes' and 'villains' in your stories or are the lines more blurred?  Why do you choose that route?

TAK: In The Time Weaver, the sides were clearly defined, which made it a pretty easy book to write. But this is not a set-in-stone style of mine, just how it came out for that book. In the sequel (which I'm currently working on) the lines get a little more blurred as to who is doing the right and wrong. I don't think it will be who you expect it to be.

TAS: Do you have any pet peeves related to writing? Are there any things that other authors do that drive you crazy?

TAK: I don't think I could define it exactly, but things that jar me out of the story really bug me. Like, I'm reading along, totally engrossed with visuals in my head, and then something happens, or the way the author wrote something totally disrupts the scene. It's the kind of thing that makes me want to put the book down.

TAS: What's the greatest thing you can realistically imagine happening as a result of your writing? How likely do you think that is to actually happen?

TAK: The greatest thing? The sky's the limit? Being able to do my writing as a full-time job. Not that I don't enjoy my day-job, but everyone's gotta dream right? Being able to write full-time and get paid for it, that would be pretty cool.

TAS: Tell us about the most interesting thing you’ve ever eaten.

TAK: Wow, I've eaten some interesting stuff. Snails? Sautéd in a garlic butter sauce, and served on crackers. If you can get past the “biting down on an eyeball” feeling, they are actually quite good. :)

TAS: If you knew you would be trapped in an elevator for a couple hours and you could choose any living person to be trapped in there with you, who would it be and why?

TAK: Stephen King. The man is a genius, and I'm sure the last thing he wants to do is talk writing with a no-namer like me for a couple hours in an elevator, but it would be the chance of a lifetime to just sit and chat with a legend.

TAS: If you could have any super-power, what would you choose and why?

TAK: The ability to control time would be very cool to have. But I'm biased, because I just wrote a book about a guy that can do just that. So often I find myself stressed because I don't have the time to get everything done that I'd like to get done. Having the ability to slow time down and give myself some extra time to do that kind of stuff would be great.

TAS: Would you cut off your right leg for $500,000?

TAK: Well, considering that my day-job is software development, and I write on the side of that, I don't use my right leg that much. $500,000 would pretty much secure my future, so I would have to say yes.

Johanna Garth

This week's interview is with up-and-coming author Johana Garth.  Johanna's great debut novel, Losing Beauty is just out in paperback and available at Amazon .  You can also get if for  Kindle or buy a signed copy from  Fantasy Island Book Publishing .  Please also check out her blog here .

Losing Beauty is the first book in the Persephone Campbell series and has been getting some great press.  You can read reviews:  here, here, and here.

TAS: Let's get the plug out of the way.  Tell us a little bit about Losing Beauty - who will be interested and why? 

JG: Losing Beauty is a modern retelling of the Greek myth of Persephone and Hades.  The people who are the most gaga over it seem to be smart women, thirty and over.   I think part of the book’s appeal for this demographic is that it’s a fun, quick read that still feels substantive.

TAS: What aspects of being an author do you most enjoy? 

JG: Uhh, the writing!  Just kidding!  On second thought…I’m serious.  I really do love the writing the best.

TAS: What aspects of being an author do you least enjoy?

JG: The writing.  Oops, that was my answer to the last question.  There’s only a thin line between love and hate and that’s precisely how I feel about writing.  On any given day I can be on either side of the fence. 

TAS: What moment as an author have you experienced that you are likely to remember 20 years from now (good or bad)?

JG: The first time I saw the cover.  All of a sudden Losing Beauty went from a bunch of sentences that I’d written down, to a real live book.  The cover kind of took my breath away, and I want to give props to the extremely talented cover designer and writer, Ceri Clark, who designed it.

TAS: What bad habits do you have when it comes to writing/promoting your books and/or what do you wish you could do better?

JG: Really, Gary?  You want me to share my bad habits??  Okay, they’re numerous but here goes.  Easily distracted/snacks while writing/spends too much time on Twitter/quits writing when I’ve hit my word goal instead of when I’ve followed an idea to its logical conclusion/spends too much time on Facebook and Google+/answers the phone when my friends call.

If I could pick just one thing to change, it would be the first one.  Sometimes I feel like a kitten chasing any piece of string that happens to pass in my line of vision.

TAS: Do you have any authors that you try to emulate?  Why or why not?

JG: When I first started writing I wanted to be a modern-day Colette (without the husband locking me in the attic until I finished my book business).  That goal hasn’t changed.  She was, and is, an accessible writer who explores the human condition in a way that entertains and amuses.  She’s totally my heroine and the Claudine Stories are some of my favorite books of all time.

TAS: How important do you think a cover is to a book?

JG: Ridiculously important!  I tell my kids they should always try to look clean and neat but a book cover has to do even more.  It has to make you want to pick it up.  Once a potential reader picks it up or clicks on it to read the book blurb you’ve already achieved a certain measure of success.

TAS: Would you paint your web-site on your chest and streak the Superbowl if you KNEW it would make your book a smash hit?

JG: Oh my goodness!  You’re asking me a Superbowl question?  I have trouble differentiating between basketball and baseball and you give me a sports question? J   I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t streak but I might be open to a preconceived ‘wardrobe malfunction’.

TAS: Have you ever changed the way you worded something you were writing because you weren't sure the grammatically correct way to say it as originally imagined?

JG: All the time.  I think that’s what people mean when they say one of the biggest challenges of writing is technical.

TAS: Tell us about the most interesting person you’ve ever met.

JG: My French ex-boyfriend’s mother, she taught me about subtlety and how to make a kick-ass vinaigrette. 

TAS: What city that you've visited has the most interesting food?  Tell us more. 

JG: I lived in New York City for a long time and it’s hard to beat for interesting food.  You can go to Queens and get amazing Greek, Chinese or Italian.  In Manhattan you have everything from world class restaurants to little holes in wall where the cooking and serving are done by someone’s Russian grandmother.   My favorite thing about eating in NYC is there’s always that great feeling of conquest when you find a place that is undiscovered.

TAS: Tell us about a guilty pleasure.

JG: Cheetos.  I hadn’t had them in fifteen years.  I tried one the other day and now they’re all I can think about.

TAS: If you were, literally, the last person on earth, what would you do?  Would you go on?

JG: That’s such a sad question and it makes me think of Cormac McCarthy’s book, The Road.   That book ruined my life for at least three weeks.  Hopefully, my last person on earth situation would be more like a Disney film, and I would find a bunch of happy bunnies and tweeting birds to keep me company.

Ceri Clark

This Week's author is Ceri Clark.  Ceri has written 3 books:  Two in her A Simpler Guide instructional series on Gmail and Android Apps and her first fiction book:  Children of the Elementi.  I've read COTE, and I thought it was great!  It's an epic fantasy adventure with interesting characters, fascinating other worlds, mysterious powers, events etc.  It has a little bit of everything and is very well-written.

You can check out Ceri's website and find links to buy and learn more about her books here:  http://cericlark.com/

And you can find out more about her and link up with her on Facebook, Twitter etc. here:  http://about.me/cericlark

TAS: Let's get the plug out of the way. Tell us a little bit about the project you are currently promoting - who will be interested and why?


CC: I’m promoting Children of the Elementi at the moment. It is a fantasy novel with a smidgeon of science-fiction. The prologue starts off with an Empire defeated and five children sent through time and space to grow up in safety but the real story begins on present day Earth.


Jake has just turned 14 and has already discovered that he can do a few party ‘tricks’ but when he finds an ancient crystal heirloom his powers are magnified and he learns he is the next High-King in another dimension. The story then follows Jake as he searches for the other heirs before the people who killed his parents finds them first.


TAS: What aspects of being an author do you most enjoy?


CC: I've always been a daydreamer but being an author means I get to share the weird ideas and worlds I think of with other people.


TAS: What aspects of being an author do you least enjoy?


CC: I really hate promotion. I am a bit shy and if I could spend my days hiding behind a keyboard tapping away I would.


TAS: What moment as an author have you experienced that you are likely to remember 20 years from now (good or bad)?


CC: I sent Elementi to a critique agency after I first finished it. Before this I was going through a bit of a crisis in confidence. I can’t tell you how great I felt when the critiquer said it was a page turner in the best possible sense! I nearly cried. oh, ok I did cry - but just a little.


TAS: What bad habits do you have when it comes to writing/promoting your books and/or what do you wish you could do better?


CC: I do procrastinate a lot. I am a messy soul but when I come to a particularly difficult part of the book, or any promotion my study sparkles, and the bathroom, and the kitchen...


TAS: What is your favorite book and why?


CC: I don’t really have a favourite book. I do love the Darkover series by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I think she was an amazing writer and I could read her books time and time again.


TAS: Do you prefer to write when the room is quiet . . . or do you like to have some background noise?


CC: I couldn’t write without a bit of Bon Jovi or Bryan Adams blaring in the background.


TAS: Do you have any pet peeves related to writing?


CC: Not really. I wish there were more hours in the day but everyone probably thinks that!


TAS: Do you think bestsellers are typically better books than books that don't sell as well? Why or why not?


CC: I think bestsellers are lucky. If you were traditionally published in the past then you have a name (and your lucky to have written books in the past!) but I think otherwise you have to strike a chord with people. it has to be enough that they want to share the book with their friends and they want to share with their friends etc.

TAS: Is there anything that you look forward to that gets you through a tough day?


CC: Chocolate!


TAS: Is the World a better or worse place in 2011 than it was in 1970 and why do you answer the way you do?


CC: The world was a worse place, because I wasn’t in it yet - just kidding. I think it was worse because of the technology we have now. I can’t imaging living in a world where I can’t look at the internet while waiting for a bus, get my frozen shopping delivered to me ice-cold after ordering it online the night before or having less than four channels on the TV!


TAS: If an aging friend with painful, terminal cancer asked you to kill them, and you knew there wouldn't be any legal problems, would you do it?


CC: I don't think I could. Only because I can't bear the idea of hurting anyone. I know the cancer would be hurting them but it wouldn't be me physically doing it. I can't even scratch my husbands back when he asks me to! Maybe I shouldn't have said that...

Rachel Tsoumbakos

This week's interview is with Rachel Tsoumbakos whose first published book is:  Emeline and the Mutants.  I'm currently reading that book enjoying it very much.  It combines elements such as zombies, vampires and even mermaids, but with a very fresh perspective.  Her next project is a vampire series that is currently being edited, and she writes for a True Blood fansite - True Blood Net - http://truebloodnet.com

She lives in Australia and has published articles with Australian magazine Living Now and its sister publication, Dare to Dream.




You can buy Emeline and the Mutants at Amazon or Barnes & Noble

Please also check out Rachel's Blog and stop by and 'like' her Facebook Page

TAS: Let's get the plug out of the way.  Tell us a little bit about the project you are currently promoting - who will be interested and why?

RT: At the moment I am promoting Emeline and the Mutants. It's about what would happen to the world if an AIDS cure went horribly wrong and turned a large majority of the population into different types of creatures. Emeline Hart is the heroine of the story and is one of the lucky few that do not change. It's her job to rid the world of all the trolls, zombies, vampires, mermaids and other mutants that now exist. In the midst of all this chaos her brother, Warwick, goes missing and she befriends a dwarf who was secretly dating him.

TAS: What aspects of being an author do you most enjoy?

RT: Being able to write.

And being able to steal my friends identities and turn them into crazy hermits or brothel owners at my own whim and fancy.

TAS: What aspects of being an author do you least enjoy?

RT: Having a constantly messy house. I personally flunked out of the University of Domestic Duties (except for Floordrobe 101 and Organised Clutter for Beginners), but even I find the dust too much to bear sometimes. I am very lucky to have children who think our house is normal and a husband who prefers being able to brag about having an author as a wife over a sterile environment.

TAS: What moment as an author have you experienced that you are likely to remember 20 years from now (good or bad)?

RT: The first time I completed a manuscript. Up until three years ago, I had written plenty of stories, but never completed one. I forced myself to do NaNoWriMo in a last ditch attempt to be able to put an end to a story. It worked.

TAS: What bad habits do you have when it comes to writing/promoting your books and/or what do you wish you could do better?

RT: When writing, I do not take enough time to step away from the computer. I find by the end of the day I have claws for hands and eyes that feel like they have been laser gunned. With promotion, I just wish I was better at selling my product.

TAS: What’s the worst book you’ve ever read? Why does it get that honor?

RT: I just finished reading 'The Painted Caves' by Jean M Auel. It is the final book in a series that has taken the author over thirty years to write. I loved this series so much that I named my daughter after the main character. After reading the last book in the series, I am now trying to work out how to reclaim three decades worth of anticipation. Basically, the author has rewritten the third book in the series and not answered ANY of the questions raised with the first book.

TAS: What is your least favorite genre?  Do you feel you could write something that was at least average or better in that genre for the right price?

RT: Probably westerns or war stories. It's not that I think they are generally badly written, I just don't find either topics favorites of mine. And no, I would never, ever attempt to write either styles. Personally, I feel that you can only write well in a genre that you also love to read yourself.

TAS: Were you smarter than your writing/literature teachers in high-school and why do you answer the way you do?

RT: Of course I was ;-P

Seriously though, they are the teachers that taught me all that I know about the English language today. Besides them, I list my mother and her push to make reading fun that have lead me down this path.

TAS: If you could ask one question of one author (living or dead) and you would get a detailed, honest answer, who would it be and what would you ask?

RT: Jean M Auel: Why?

TAS: Tell us about the most interesting person you’ve ever met.

RT: I am a writer, every single person that crosses my path are interesting in some shape or form. Every character I have ever created has been based (however large or small) on interesting people around me. In Emeline and the Mutants, one of my characters, Nore Berry is based on a close friend of mine. So far, though, I still haven't found a place in one of my books for the lady who only does her grocery shopping while wearing leopard print. Over the last ten years, I don't think I've seen her wear the same outfit twice - that's a lot of leopard going on! I find it fascinating that she could be so obsessed with such a gaudy print.

TAS: Tell us a little bit about your home town and what makes it special.

RT: I live in a suburb called Greensborough (not Greensboro). I have lived here since I was very young. It's special to me because it is home and there is a wonderful sense of community. I'm sure it has other redeeming and important features, I am just unaware of them. We have a really cool abandoned cemetery, does that count?

TAS: If space aliens landed and said you could come with them to their planet to see wonders beyond wonders . . . but you would never see earth or your friends and family again, would you go?

RT: Hell no! I once went to a psychic who told me that I had learned all there was to learn on this planet, and that with my next life, I would be born on another planet. Needless to say, I did not go back to her again. I am a homebody, I cherish my humble piece of earth. Needless to say, my family and friends are everything to me.

Jacqueline Hopkins

This week's author is Jacqueline Hopkins.  Her first  book is Wilderness Heart -  A contemporary Romance set in the Idaho Wilderness.  She is currently busy working on a serial killer thriller, a murder mystery and a fictional mainstream set in Alaska.

You can buy Wilderness Heart in paperback HERE or as an eBook in a number of formats including but not limited to:  Amazon  Smashwords  Sony  iTunes  Diesel  Barnes & Noble  Xin Xii

And as a special offer in celebration of her Birthday on July 7th, Jacqueline is offering her book for only $0.99 throughout the month of July.  Just go to the Smashwords link and use coupon code GT64D for a free copy in the format of your choice.  And please share that link and code with your friends. 

TAS: Let's get the plug out of the way. Tell us a little bit about the project you are currently promoting - who will be interested and why?

JH: Well I hope everyone would be interested to read Wilderness Heart but since it is a contemporary romance, probably only women will be interested in it. Although, I do have to say the first purchase and review I received on Amazon was from a man and he said he quite liked it.

TAS: What aspects of being an author do you most enjoy?

JH: Seeing my words in the printed book, holding it in my hands, seeing my name on the cover, knowing people enjoy and like what I have written.

TAS: What aspects of being an author do you least enjoy?

JH: Seems everyone says promoting...and I have to agree with them. It is very hard work and it takes away from your writing, but if you want to sell more books, you have to get your books and yourself out there.

TAS: What moment as an author have you experienced that you are likely to remember 20 years from now (good or bad)?

JH: Holding my first proof, the printed book, in my hands and seeing my name on the front cover. That was very exciting and something I will treasure always.

TAS: What bad habits do you have when it comes to writing/promoting your books and/or what do you wish you could do better?

JH: Bad habits...hmmmm...I procrastinate until I put myself under pressure...but perhaps that is not a bad thing. It forces me to write if I give myself a deadline. I wish I could better market myself, either with more writing on my blog or learning those darn hash tags on twitter and what they are for and mean.

TAS: Do you have any moments or anecdotes that led you to want to be an author?

JH: No, I can't say there are any...at least none that I remember. My parents were a great example to me to want to and like to read. I love to read, but when I am writing, it is hard for me to read.

TAS: Do you write books that are part of a series or stand-alone? Why have you chosen as you have?

JH: Probably stand-alone because I am not sure I could come up with a sequel to a book, although my current thriller wip could be part of a series if I used the main character and put her in my murder mystery and then in the fictional mainstream. I've thought of that, but not sure if I will do it.

TAS: Have you ever written something that made you cringe to imagine your children/parents/significant other reading it? If so, tell us more.

JH: Well, yes...Wilderness Heart has about 3 really major love scenes and I thought it would be hard for me to have my kids, parents and friends read it and look at me differently. My daughter said she loved it as did my friends...they are suppose to say that, right, lol...But I had another gentleman read it from my office. Actually, I am the only female in my office and they were teasing about the love scenes when I first told them I published it. The one who read it said they were pretty steamy. Don't know his definition of 'steamy' but he did say he had to hide it from his 13 year old boy. Three out of the five men in the office bought the book...for their wives.

TAS: Have you ever changed the way you worded something you were writing because you weren't sure the grammatically correct way to say it as originally imagined?

JH: Oh, sure all the time. I still do it and will probably always do it. It has to be right and I hope I chose the right way in the end. But at work, I have the Chicago Manual Style of Writing close by, and at home I am a member of it online, so it is close as my mouse clicks and fingertips.

TAS: What's your favorite all-time cartoon, and when is the last time you saw it?

JH: That's a hard one...but probably Tom and Jerry and probably the last time I watched it was with my grandson, Aden when he was 2, and now soon to be 6 in couple of months.

TAS: Tell us about the area you live and what makes it unique (good or bad).

JH: I could write a book on Sitka. It is beautiful. We are right on the ocean with mountains right behind us. We have about 14 miles of road with the town in the middle and it is only about 1.5 miles wide. Only way here is by boat or plane, and the weather is like Seattle. We have lots of great fishing and it is a super place for settings in a novel. Only draw back is that the population is less than 9,000 so everyone knows everybody and what they are doing, and only one book store so hard to hold a book signing.

TAS: Tell us about an embarrassing moment.

JH: You know I am sure there were lots of them, and if you asked my friends and family, they could probably tell you about some, but I must not have been that embarrassed because I honestly can't even remember a one...I know boring, huh?

TAS: If you were going to be locked in a room and watch one of three shows for 24 hours solid, which would you choose: Gilligan's Island, Starsky and Hutch or the Love Boat?

JH: Gilligan's Island, of course. I love island shows, movies, the life style. I lived in Hawaii during my ex-husband's last duty station from 1988 to 1990, my daughter was born there in 1989 and I could certainly live there again. In January, I took my daughter back there so she could see where she was born...in the big pink Army hospital on the hill and we would definitely love to retire there, so Gilligan's Island would be fine. Besides, I used to watch it a lot when growing up.

Claire Chilton

Claire Chilton has written numerous works including, short stories, poetry and now her debut novel:  Whatever Became of the Squishies. She holds an English Literature BA Hons degree from the York St John University and won the 1997 Editors Choice Award from The International Library of Poetry.  


Check out her website HERE.
And you can buy her book at Amazon.
You can also follow her on Twitter , check out her Blog , find her on Goodreads  And Facebook  .

TAS: Let's get the plug out of the way. Tell us a little bit about Whatever Became of the Squishies   - who will be interested and why?

CC: This book will appeal mostly to children and young adults. It is a child-friendly fantasy adventure. Although is has been popular with adults too, for its social satire and entertainment value.

Carla Mainston is a rebellious purple teenager, living in the hygiene-obsessed, green-skinned colony of Derobmi. She's encountered racism throughout her young life, and been arrested on many occasions for crimes against cleanliness. Life is lonely and hard for Carla. She craves adventure and a new life - somewhere she belongs.

She lives on the planet of Dumfollab: A world with a misplaced history dating back millions of years to when the Squishies occupied it. History was formed from the rubbish they left behind, and today the planet is a melting pot of cultures and colonies.

In the colony of Derobmi the people are green and clean. They worship the gods of soap powder, and consider it a deadly sin to 'dirty another's carpet'. Colonies developed from empty beer bottles, broken Persil washing balls, and faded crisp packets. Gods, laws, and entire societies have developed from abandoned junk, and after thousands of years, simple phrases like 'how white are your whites' or 'Bud-wi-serrr' have become ancient testaments. Carla's green-hued brother becomes ill with a mysterious disease that runs rampant throughout Derobmi. While looking for a cure Carla is drawn into a dangerous adventure, which spans from the ancient archives, to the dark caverns beneath Foamy Mansion. With new friends, new love, a killer on the loose, early death prophecies, and ominous super powers, Carla must discover more about her own dark history to survive.

TAS: What aspects of being an author do you most enjoy?

CC: The thrill of writing under the influence of pure inspiration has to be my all time favourite moment. There's a wonderful feeling that I can't even begin to describe, when you are suddenly inspired out of nowhere and you sit up and start writing it down. It's a rollercoaster ride and you don't know when it will end, or where. I love those moments, the best story lines happen during this time and you're not just writing an adventure, you're on one!

I read somewhere a long time ago, that writers don't invent stories, they are given them (be it by a muse, the cosmos, or a little story demon sat on their shoulder). I don't know what gives me my stories, but I do love it when he/she/it drops by to take me on another journey.

TAS: What aspects of being an author do you least enjoy?

CC: Editing! The word itself sounds pretty harmless, but editing is like a spreading disease on your lovely pages. You start, thinking it won't take long. Only to find that four months later you're still editing because you keep finding new things you need to do/change/fix. It's an important process though and it does provide your readers with a perfect book, or as close to perfect as you can get. So I do it even though I really don't want to. I suspect if I'm ever driven insane, it will be during the editing of one of my books.

TAS: What moment as an author have you experienced that you are likely to remember 20 years from now (good or bad)?

CC: I've had so many moments where my heart jumps into my mouth in shock and awe, as an author. My first royalty cheque, my first award, my first book sale, when a major UK agent contacted me, when I published my book for the first time, when I got through the first round of ABNA, when I joined Fantasy Island Book Publishing. All of these moments are ones I'll remember for the rest of my life. I don't think I'll ever take life as an author in my stride. At the end of the day I'll always just be Claire writing a story, and then jumping up and down in excited awe that people actually like the stories I wrote. I never really believed my little novel would get off my bedroom shelf and meet the world, but I'm overjoyed that it has.

TAS: What bad habits do you have when it comes to writing/promoting your books and/or what do you wish you could do better?

CC: Oh I'm awful at promoting myself and my book. I babble far too much and always say what I think. I call it 'foot in mouth syndrome'. I'll always be a bit silly, a bit childish and tad inappropriate. I wish I could be one of those people who is always well presented and says the right thing at the right time. But I'm not that stylish, so I'll probably always trip over red carpets, landing with my skirt over my head and mumble 'bollocks' to the cameras. Luckily for me, some people find it endearing or amusing.

TAS: Do you have any specific procedures you follow when you write?

CC: I always start a new project with a short story, to capture the feel of the story as it happens in my head. I find if I take too long to write down the inspiration, it fades away. A short story is a great way to record my ideas in a format that will maintain its original inspiration.

I also still handwrite my novels, it takes longer sure, but I'm a pen and paper addict, I love handwriting my manuscripts. After the first rough version is written, I edit it and type it up on my laptop. I feel a bit like a dinosaur doing that these days, but its how I've always written my stories, and it's how the inspiration flows.TAS: Do you prefer to write when the room is quiet . . . or do you like to have some background noise?

CC: I can write with some music on not too loudly, although every once in a while I'll get distracted by the lyrics of the song. But I find music is a great motivator for writing powerful scenes. Generally I'll listen to a song while thinking about a scene and turn the music off for the actual writing.

Other people making noises while I'm writing can bring out the 'wrath of Claire'.

TAS: Do you think bestsellers are typically better books than books that don't sell as well? Why or why not?

CC: The cynical marketer in me says bestsellers are the ones that got the best marketing and promotion. People read what they've heard of, so by recommendation more than anything else. In my experience people tend to buy books by the same author, one they enjoy. If they need to find a new author, they look to the book stores, magazines, lists and their friends for recommendations. So regardless of how well a book is written, its sales are controlled by popularity, not quality. Awareness of a novel or an author is more likely to land a book on the bestsellers list, than the quality of the book.

That said, a bestselling book has to be enjoyed to be recommended. So quality does come into it. But there are millions of enjoyable books in the world, and the defining factor between those that are bestsellers and those that are not all comes down to marketing and awareness.

If readers haven't heard of a book, they probably won't try it, no matter how good it is. So no I don't think bestsellers are better books, I just think we're made more aware of their existence.

TAS: Have you ever changed the way you worded something you were writing because you weren't sure the grammatically correct way to say it as originally imagined?

CC: Yes, although Google is my best friend if I'm not sure. But I have had some seriously sticky sentences in my time. Sometimes it's best to sacrifice that inspired sentence for something that makes sense (Oh the pains of editing!)

TAS: Tell us about the most interesting person you’ve ever met.

CC: I've met quite a lot of interesting people in my life. I seem to be drawn to them. The most famous one I know is Derek Landy, he's a lovely interesting Irish guy, with a wicked sense of humour.

TAS: Tell us a little bit about your home town and what makes it special.

CC: I live in York in England. It's a beautiful city with some unique qualities. It's ancient, with Roman walls and the odd Viking wandering the streets. I believe historically it's been a city since the Roman era, where it was called Eboracum. The city today has 365 pubs, one for every day of the year. It also has a large amount of churches in it, and they say you can't walk anywhere in York without walking over a grave, because it's so old, people have died in every spot here. Most recently archaeologists found the graves of gladiators in someone's back garden in York. So it's an old and unusual city. Visitors often find it very beautiful and very nice, because it is. The crime rate is low, the place is scenic and it's a nice city to live in. I've lived in York my whole life, so I don't think anywhere else will ever feel as much like home.

TAS: If you had the opportunity to eat human flesh . . . and no-one had to die, it was already, just sort of there and had been prepared by a chef . . . would you try it?

CC: Not if you paid me! I'm a vegetarian so I wouldn't even eat a well prepared cow, let alone a human being. I'm a firm believer in life is precious, unless it's the life of a carrot, which I have no qualms about munching on. I'm also a big believer in the right to live how you choose, so don't expect any vegetarian lectures from me. People choose their own paths in life; I'd never try to enforce my opinion on others.

I follow a very simple moral code: Live and let live - except for carrots of course, pesky orange blighters!

TAS: Have you ever made up a lie to get out of something, and if so, can you tell us more?

CC: I'm sure I have, but I just can't think of any. I prefer to tell the truth in most things and avoid lying. But I'm not perfect; when it comes to delivering bad news I use little white lies sometimes to soften the blow. Honest to a point of stupid, would describe me perfectly.

If I lie about something, the guilt usually gets to me and I confess the truth about twenty minutes later. I'm awful at keeping secrets!