Today, around the Cauldron, I'm honoured to have Lancashire's fresh faced paranormalist Louise Gornall, all blue hair and blue horizons, come to chat with me about her debut novel "In Stone". Which, I an reliably informed, is making more waves than a supercharged barge on a joyride down the Manchester Canal. Here's what she had to tell Wizard Watchers. Hi Louise, Hi Wiz! So, tell us a bit about yourself, Louise. Where are you from? Do you work? Do you write full time? Anything else of interest to the readers.
Well, I'm from the North West of England. I work remotely as a submissions intern for Swoon romance, but other than that I write full time. There's a rumor circulating that I am in fact the Pink Power Ranger. I'm afraid at this time I can neither confirm or deny said rumor. I take two sugars in my tea. Oh and I can't whistle, so there's that...
What genre do you write in? And why? I predominantly write urban fantasy and horror, but I do like to dabble in contemporary YA. I write UF because I love exploring the weird and wonderful...and well, I have a thing for hot immortal dudes on dangerous missions. Horror and I have been intimately involved since the beginning of time and I couldn't not give writing scary stories a shot. I guess I like writing contemporary because it can cut quite deep and -- especially in YA -- it's a great opportunity to explore taboo topics.
Tell Wizard Watchers about your debut novel
My debut, In Stone, has just dropped. It's a story about a girl and a gargoyle who go on this crazy-intense trip across Europe in search of the Underworld. A knife has surfaced that has the power to wipe out the immortals. Demons want it, Gargoyles want it and it's looking like the human race is going to get caught in the crossfire, unless Beau and Jack can make it to the Underworld alive and destroy it in Immortal fire.
Famous gargoyle at Southwell Minster circa 13th century.
I gather reviews for In Stone are top quality. What impact does a review have on you - the good, bad and the ugly... Thank you. I am seriously stoked! I haven't had a bad review...yet. I guess it's only matter of time until I get one though. I was going to say that they don't really have an impact on me, but I suppose if that were true I wouldn't be so excited about the good reviews I've been given. Bad reviews happen. I love bloggers and have some great friends that are reviewers. I Imagine it's going to sting when I learn that someone doesn't like my book, but I respect everybody's right to have an opinion. If we all liked the same stuff the world would be a petty boring place, right?
What is your writing routine? Are you a crazed binge writer? Or a careful, studious grand a day artist? I'm a crazed binge writer: I like to try and get in an hour a day, but I suck so bad at planning and life is always getting in the way.
Do you always have your hair in extravagant colours? Which is your favourite? Does your hair colour influence your mood, and therefore, your writing?
Diversity in Hair!
This is my most favourite question ever! I've been doing it crazy colours for a while now. I was a brunette just a few short months ago, but I get very bored, very quickly. It's been green and pink and purple and red and orange, but this is my favourite to date. It's doesn't really influence my mood or writing...although I guess Leah, one of the characters from In Stone, is a hair dye freak and she absolutely gets that from me.
In an unfortunate allegory of "Misery", you have been kidnapped by a bonkers hairdresser who locks you in her cellar until you agree to have your hair dyed elderberry. In a fit of remorse, she opens the door, and slides in an empty shampoo crate containing three books, two CDs and a DVD - what would you like them to be?
I've changed my mind. THIS is my most favourite question ever! The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
This is Not A Test by the fantastic Courtney Summers.
CD's would be Follow the Leader by Korn because that's my youth,
and a greatest hits...probably from Queen.
DVD would be Lord of the Rings.
The man many citizens of Rochdale call "Gandalf", seen here without
his magic staff, as it had just been confiscated by a Community Support Officer as he considered it
an offensive weapon.
The Paranormal boom: Has the bubble burst?
Nah! Readers are still reading it, and with small presses willing to take risks left right and center for good writing, we're all good.
Rare daguerrotype of a Paranormal Godfather:
Dublin's Bram Stoker - author of "Dracula"
What do your fans have to look forward to in the coming year? In Stone 2! Hahahahahahahahahha...okay, I gotya! I am officially writing the sequel. As long as Entranced Publishing want it that's definitely going to happen. I'm also writing a Mean Girls meets The Exorcist YA which I'm hoping I'll be able to hock to some poor, unsuspecting publishing house later in the year.
The original "Mean Girl", AKA my sister circa aged ten.
Louise, its been an absolute pleasure having you round the Cauldron. Wizardwatchers wish you, and your debut novel, all the very best. Thank you so much for having me over. This has been above and beyond awesome.
Louise is a graduate of Garstang Community Academy. She is
currently studying for a BA (Hons) in English language and literature with
special emphasis on creative writing. YA aficionado. Brit bird. Film nerd.
Identical twin. Junk food enthusiast. Rumored pink Power Ranger. Zombie
apocalypse 2012 survivor. She is also an avid collector of book boyfriends.
After six weeks at a Conference with the Society of Different Coloured Wizards, the Green Wizard is back, this time with a second visit from paranormal fantasist SK Whiteside, from Louisiana.
Land of Gumbo, Voodoo, Soca, Deadpool, Mardi Gras, Jumbo Jets, Swamp Thing, the lugubrious Chef from "Apocalypse Now", a long tradition of Consensus politics, unlucky flamingos, humidity, Supercop Steve Seagal, Louisiana Downs...and birthplace of Amazonian chatmeistress, Ellen De Generes.
About to release her first full length novel, the Wizphoning Wizard caught SK while she travelled through the Bayou on a big hovercraft, like one of those off Florida's "Miami Vice". Here's what she had to say...
Uncomfortable, Wiz!, to be perfectly honest with you...
Enough of this tomfoolery. Tell new readers
about yourself, SK!
Oh
well that's easy. I'm a wife, mom, Therapist by day, and super hero by night.
Did I mention I was psychic? Are you any relation to top Northern Ireland striker, Norman Whiteside?
Not that I know of, Wiz!
Perhaps not! What have you been
up to since we last met?
I
knew you were going to ask that. Uh, Wiz I tell you I have been incredibly
busy. Writing and trying to get my name out there as a writer of course.
Working (have to pay the bills of course) and launching my not for profit
foundation dedicated to promoting mental health and the arts.
We are trying to
put together a non fiction anthology of stories about youth overcoming
adversity, we have received a ton of submissions but we are lacking
in variety (in regards to the different types of adversity). It's my way
of combining both of my passions: Helping others and Writing.
You do lead a busy life. Tell us about
"Inheritance", your latest novel...
Inheritance
is my first FULL length novel. I have been writing in the World of the
Guardians (Vexed, Fallen, Haunted, and Scribe are all shorts with characters
from the world) for a few years. It's based on Egyptian Mythology and set in
modern day New Orleans, LA and London, UK. The blurb is as follows...
“Talk about hell on earth…”
Sekhmet’s life was pretty good; you know for a goddess. Her job was simple –
kill those that sought to go against the creator. It was a job she was good at
but unfortunately got a little too carried away with when she almost single
handedly wiped out mankind. For her penance she has spent the last thousand
years serving as one of the Guardians; a group of immortals that protect
mankind and led by the Goddess Isis – who kind of had her own anger
issues.
The Azura, a league of immortal bad asses, are literally trying to bring hell
on earth and with it, Set – the banished God and ruler of the Makhaut. For the
first time in history and with the help of the Makhaut, they may actually pull
it off. Even the Guardians are at a loss.
In the Hail Mary of all attempts to save the world Isis, now going by Isira,
sends Sekhmet to New Orleans, to find and protect the “Key” but when it is
determined that a traitor lies among the Guardians, Sekhmet, now going by the
name of Syn, is forced to seek help in the most unlikely of places…her least
favorite person and fellow Guardian…Malachi.
What’s a former Goddess to do?
It's your
birthday on Saturday - what are you up to?
Hopefully
celebrating making top 100 in both UK and US for Inheritance making it
officially top 100 in 4 countries simultaneously. If not I will just be
celebrating another year where I have been fortunate enough to see the start of
my dreams become a reality. Truthfully that's all that really matters.
Excellent stuff. What music accompanied the writing of
"Inheritance?"
Well this answer is a tad bit
long. Well, when I first wrote Inheritance
(then primarily known as Guardian of the Gate) I had a completely different
playlist. That playlist was reflective of that version of the book…Dark and
humorless. When I took time off of writing the series (unintentionally) I had
the opportunity to write some very different styled shorts that were in the
Guardian world. It allowed me to express different storytelling styles and
voices and I ultimately found “my voice”. Ironically my fiction/storytelling
voice is a lot like my own personal voice…snarky. After making a few changes to
the first few chapters (which included revamping from first to third person…)
my beta loved it and I set forth to completely revamp it. The new version was
so different from the original it needed a new name AND a new playlist. The
song list may seem a bit eclectic and strange at first glance but as you read
Inheritance I feel as the reader will be able to tell which song I was
listening to as I wrote particular scenes. The book is THAT vivid and the music
only enhanced it as if it were a movie scene and the music was its soundtrack.
If you don’t believe me buy the songs on the list (they can be found on iTunes
or wherever music is sold…just as long as you BUY to support the artists).
Make
a cd titled “Inheritance Playlist” and listen to it as you read. You
can thank me later ;)
1.E.T. by Katy Perry ft. Kanye West
2.Misery’s Business by Paramore
3.Smells like Teen Spirit by Nirvana
4.Somewhere I Belong by Linkin Park
5.The Kill by 30 Seconds to Mars
6.Frozen by Madonna
7.Wide Awake by Katy Perry
8.Trouble by Pink
9.Make a Move by Icon For Hire
10.Fight by The Dirty Youth
11.Need a Boss by Shareefa (I’ll help you on this
one…has to do with Malachi)
12.So Excited by Janet Jackson
13.Secret by Madonna
14.Touch it (Remix) by Busta Rhymes (again…that
darn Malachi)
15.Drop it like its hot by Snoop Dog
16.Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen
17.Objection by Shakira
18.It Kills Me by Melanie Fiona
19.All Around Me by Flyleaf
20.Our Solemn Hour by Within Temptation
Yeah, the music took
me places. lol
How is your writing
going? Are you improving as a writer the more you write?
It's going well actually. I believe
any writer gets better the more they write. I think for me I have a bigger
problem with having enough time to write everything I want to write. Too many
stories and not enough time.
Morbid Seraphic 2: Seven
Deadly Sins will be out sometime this autumn (finalizing acceptances etc. right
now), Thicker Than Water, my psychological thriller will also be out. My non
fiction imprint from the foundation has the anthology that I mentioned earlier
"In My Own Words" and another self help anthology we hope to have
together by the end of 2013. If not then, it will be early 2014. I also plan to
travel a lot more for my writing and foundation. I plan on coming to your neck
of the woods if I can keep the interests from UK fans.
What are you
reading at the moment?
Please don't get me started. My TBR list is massively backed
up. I currently have about 30 books on it. HOWEVER, on the top of that list is
the latest from Terry Goodkind "The Omen Machine", Fall of Night and
Bitter Blood by Rachel Caine, and Gilded Destiny by Nola Sarina.
What is your
verdict on the 2013 Indie scene? About ready to flower? Or on the brink of an
implosion?
I'm still on the fence about this. As
someone who has worked behind the publishing scene I have developed a few
thoughts but its not something easily answered or readily definitive. I
think...we must be prepared and watch and see.
I think you're being very diplomatic there, SK!! :-)
You noticed, huh?
I did hahahahaha. So, what will 2014 bring for
fans of SK Whiteside?
Now 2014 for S.K. Whiteside will bring
BIG things for S.K. Whiteside. Aside from book 2 coming out (Blood Born: World
of the Guardians), some other things are in the works that I cannot yet
discuss. Well technically I can but for the sake of jinxing and bad mojo
I am holding off. All I can say is, get on the train now so you can say you
were here first!
SK, thanks for coming along to the Cauldron for a second time. Keep us posted!
Writer and lover of all things dark and mysterious. Most of her
stories have a background in Egyptian Mythology with a modern day adaptation
and unique twist. S.K. Whiteside is a
Mythic Fiction writer of Contemporary Urban & Historical Fantasy. As a full
time Mental Health Therapist, she started writing in Academia but decided
writing about things on the "other side of the veil" was a lot more
interesting. Living in the Paranormal capital of the world makes it fairly easy
for her to come up with characters, many of which are based on of real personas
in her life that she can't help but carry over into her writing.
Hello Wizardwatchers. Ngaire here. Lovely to see you all.
Well, the other day, I was minding my own business when the phone rang. Answering, I was asked by a friend to pet-sit their children’s
goldfish. They were only going away for
a week, and so I agreed. Goldie (not his real name, changed for obvious
reasons) was to get a pinch of fish food every day and that was it. Simple as! Day 4 came
and went without a hitch. This is
easy-peasy I thought, then Day 5 arrived and it all went horribly wrong!
There was Goldie floating at the top.
The horror and dread
of telling my friend’s children of Goldie’s fate. I could imagine their painful
sobs.
Then I had a brainwave. Buy another Goldie. And that was what I did. I wrapped the
dead goldfish in kitchen roll. Popped him in a freezer bag and made my way to
the pet shop. The shopkeeper was very helpful and we managed to find an almost
identical Goldie-replacement. Goldie Mark II was a tiny bit smaller but ‘no one
will notice that’ assured the shopkeeper.
Proud as punch and very much relieved I popped Goldie Mark II
in his new fish bowl and never said a word. To this day my friend knows nothing
and that is how it shall remain.
I wonder if her children knew that it wasn’t the ‘real’
Goldie …?
Mark Barry
Anyway, enough fishy tales and on with this show. Today's guest is Mark ("The Ritual", "Ultra Violence") Barry who is really busy right now and has come in to discuss what's happening in Wizardworld.
Here he is - and he's shaking his bendy wand at me!
Hiya Ngaire...I'm fine thanks. Happy to be on the show!
Delighted to have you! So, Mark you are a
man of mystery, a man with no face on the cyber cat-walk: Tell us Wizardwatchers a little about yourself.
I’m a writer, first and foremost, Ngaire. I live in the
Midlands of the UK, in the middle of Sherwood Forest. I love horse racing,
Notts County FC, heavy metal and my family. I have a sixteen year old son,
Matt. I’ve written six books. When I grow up, I want to be a pub singer called
Mike Champagne.
Stefan Oakes Notts County Wondergoal
When did you first
realize you wanted to be a writer?
Definitely not when I was a kid! I was a reader then and
didn’t even write a diary. Too busy playing out. I wrote my first novel when I
was twenty, to see whether I could do it - only for it to be totally panned by
a friend of mine, so with the exception of several porn stories I sold to “Knave”
magazine in 1986, I didn’t write again for another twenty three years.
Bodie and Doyle - TV's "Professionals" - take a sneaky gander at
"Hot For Teacher", Mark's first published story. Probably.
In 2003, I was a player on a US online forum and used to
write skits and little sketches. Lots of people liked my stuff and I’ve been
writing ever since.
In all, including the Green Wizard novels, half written
manuscripts, folders full of utter rubbish, bad ideas, jokes and journals, I must
have written a million words in the past decade.
Mark, you have a
number of novels published, but today I want you to chat about The Ritual, your thriller, which I am reading and enjoying very much. Thanks for the
nightmares by the way! What made you choose to write in the thriller genre and
where did the ideas come from for The Ritual?
Massive horror novel fan when I was young. Wheatley, King, Straub, Herbert (RIP),
Sharman, Campbell Tryon all those great writers monopolised my reading time. Then, I stopped, roughly about the time of Clive Barker’s “Books of Blood”. I
read one of those and thought, nah, this is bollocks (I’m not a Barker fan at
all), and stopped reading the genre.
I wrote The Ritual
in a fit of nostalgia during the writing binge, which fuelled Green
Wizard. I guess I was laying the ghosts
of that first critically panned novel to rest, if we’re getting Jungian about
things! I even included one of the characters from that first novel in The
Ritual.
Big influence on "The Ritual" - 1975 classic
Race With The Devil
Did certain parts of
The Ritual make you uncomfortable? If so, why did you feel that way? Did this
lead to a new understanding or awareness of some aspect of your life you might
not have thought about before?
Only the sex, Ngaire. There’s one chapter in there, which is
positively filthy and I won’t be buying my mum a copy for Christmas. Nah, the
horror is fine. Looking forward to seeing the remake of the Evil Dead soon.
Can’t have enough screaming demons, gushing blood and fiery death, can one?
To complete your question, I’m just not comfortable writing
erotica, like your earlier guest Keith Nichols. I can do it – I wrote one book,
“The Illustrated Woman” which is just non stop bonking – and I think I’m pretty
good at it, but I always feel guilty afterwards. It's the Catholic in me! The Ritual wouldn’t work
without that chapter though, so it wasn’t gratuitous.
A wee question, I
have a niggle. Regarding The Ritual, specifically book 3 chapter 9: Phillipa
and Carmel go on a mad shopping spree in Nottingham. Your description of
women’s clothes was incredibly knowledgeable; you knew more than me! Can you
explain how that is possible?
Haha. I let my animus loose! Kelly Sherwood and I worked
closely on The Ritual – she did all my reading in the old days - and she will
tell you that I followed the route I describe exactly and I spoke to her on the
mobile phone asking her questions.
There was an awful lot of leopard skin
prints about in 2011 and also a brief spurt of Mad Men fashions – early fifties
stuff. They all made it into the book.
In Hollywood Shakedown, Monique – my
favourite female character – goes shopping in a genuine LA mall and that’s
similar. There is a two-page homage to shoes*. I love women’s shoes – all my
books feature high heeled women’s shoes somewhere about.
When Phillippa and Carmel went shopping!
Nottingham's ultra popular Bridlesmith Gate
With regards to The
Ritual, did you work with an outline, or just write?
Unless you count my 24-hour internal plot meetings (I become
obsessed with a book), I’m the ultimate pantser. Never written a plot outline
in my life. I also write things out of order, which some writers don’t
understand.The Ritual, whose ending has
pissed off many people, is based on a famous old horror film and that came
first: I knew the ending before I knew the beginning.
If you had to go back
and do it all over, is there any aspect of The Ritual or getting it published
that you would change?
I’d rewrite Chapters 7-13. My top pal Clive La Court couldn’t
get past them. I thought the book was too short at a 100,000 words, so I added
bits at the beginning. Because of that,
I’m just not happy with the flow. However, from 14-43, I consider the work to
be up there with my best.
Your company, Green
Wizard Publishing, is in the process of publishing an anthology. Care to
divulge more?
Reality Bites is twelve authors strutting their stuff on the
subject of Hope from Despair. The
writing is top notch and there are twelve top short stories. Death, recovery
from domestic abuse, rape, grieving, child abuse and horrific food addiction
are just some of the topics.
Quite a few
of the authors have been interviewed here on the Cauldron including Emma
Edwards, Rae Gee and Suzanne Van Rooyen – well-known names in Indie Circles –
and there are a couple of new faces (to me) on board, including Christy L Foster who is
organising the books release event next week. I like it and it’s a big
divergence for the company. If it does well, I’ll commission more short stuff.
Cover by Dark Dawn Designs
Was it difficult to decide
which Indie Authors would appear in Reality Bites; there is so much talent out
there?
Loads of people expressed an interest, but the list sorted
itself out. It’s like that old cliche – everyone has a book in them. Well, yes
they have, but the hard part is getting it out.
Short stories are hard work. To be honest, the whole process was a
nightmare. I had one girl drop out the night before the deadline. One friend of
mine, who I had known for seven years, spat his dummy into the stratosphere, because
I wasn’t communicating with him enough about his submission, and we no longer
speak. Another potential author became very ill and pulled out. (I understand that, by the way). Another
wouldn’t return my mails. It was much
harder than writing novels!
If you had to sum
Reality Bites up in 30 or less words, what would you say?
Reality writing – fiction, “faction” and life representation
– of the highest order written by some of the most talented independently
published authors operating today.
Oh, when is Reality
Bites due to be published, Mark?
Saturday 13th April. About five weeks late
haha But Miss, I have an excuse – or
twenty. Come to the party! Everyone is invited.
Finally, I have heard you are
due to appear on Mackenzie Knight’s paranormal radio show, Unearthly
Encounters. What are you going to chat about and tell us when and how we can
tune into the live show?
Mackenzie has become a great friend of mine. One of the top
paranormal DJ’s in the States, my appearance on there is one of the great
achievements of the Green Wizard year. Ngaire, I cannot wait. I’m going to talk
about The Ritual, plus weekend devil worship and sex rituals involving the British
middle class; a kind of upmarket dogging scene, but with sinister undertones
and surprising manifestations.
Rosemary's Baby
We’ll be
talking horror, ghosts (I’ve seen several), aliens and loads of mad things. I
hope we talk about The State of Indie and I hope we talk about writing. I am
absolutely buzzing and it’s going to be a blast. Are you tuning in, Ngaire? It's on the 21st April.
I'll stay up especially, hahah. Can't wait actually. What was one of the
most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
Just how unoriginal many people are in Independent Literature. I thought I would be surrounded by brilliant
writers, but that’s not the case. Everyone does the same thing. No one seems to
have any confidence in their work and no one innovates.
First thing publishers look for – Is This
Stuff New and Fresh.Every time. I thought Indie would be as experimental as
anything out there, but mainstream publishers are killing us for innovation.
What an opportunity we have too! Yet, as a group, we just write the same novel and publish it
ten thousand times under ten thousand different author names.What Steampunk maestro Rae Gee calls Novel Writing 101.
Show,
not tell.
Lots of dialogue.
Minimal description.
Plot, plot, plot.
In other words: Films on
paper. Novels are novels!
Sites like Awesome Indies don’t help. Their review criteria
include the debatable “show” rather than “tell” guideline. Nonsense! A brilliant book like House of Meetings by Martin Amis wouldn’t
get past that criteria. Neither would anything by Garcia Marquez. Or Henry Miller. My two-page homage - totally irrelevant and
deliberately digressive - to Monique’s hypnotic shoes in Hollywood Shakedown wouldn’t pass either - but
a hundred books full of an identical blandness will. Same old, same old. Dot to Dot Novel Writing.
Indie is the most conformist market in the world because
there is a prevailing reluctance to try anything new - because while the guardians of the
slush pile at Faber and Faber are fearsome, no one is as damaging to one’s ego
as a peer. This is the thing that has surprised me most, Ngaire.
Strong opinions!
I am available for children's parties...
Hahahahaha. So, if you could spend a
day as someone else, who would it be and why?
A sailor on a Greenpeace anti-whaling vessel in the Pacific
getting in the way of Japanese whale murderships. (*spits*)
Is there any
particular author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or
as an adult?
Martin Amis “Money”.
The best book written in this country, this century. Flawless and an
inspiration.
Tell us one of your
favourite quotes …
I'll show you, Ngaire.
And finally, where
can fans of Mark Barry find out more?
You're welcome. When is your last show for the Cauldron, Ngaire? Your run has proved incredibly popular.
Well, I am concluding next week with an interview with Kim Scott. Then, vampire writer and big Cauldron friend Emma Edwards takes the reins - that will be fun - and I'm sure there's a certain Wizard on his way back from holidays to take over. I'm coming back though, once a month as it stands.
That's brilliant. I hear over three thousand people have seen your shows. That's significant ratings for a once weekly author interview blog. I'm sure Wiz will be glad to have you back.
Really, oh well. I'm blushing now. Well, it's been great to have you on the show and the best of luck with Mackenzie's Show on Sunday 21st and of course, with Reality Bites this weekend.
See you at the Reality Bites party. And thanks for having me...
"Death. Domestic
abuse. Ritual exploitation. The passing of a loved one. Child battery. Horrifying
food addiction. Brutal bullying.
Friendship gone bad. Drugs. Family collapse. Loss. Despair.
These are the bricks in the walls of
Hell.
That would be real
hell. Not the imaginary hell of the biblical scribe, the epic fantasist, the horrorphile,
the metaphorist, the allegory peddler or the unreliable narrator.
This is the real Hell.
But no matter how bleak things become in that impenetrable abyss,
no matter how bleak, no matter how pitch black, there is always the bottom rung
of a threadbare rope ladder dangling from the precipice – and the
message is: the rung is in reach.
This is Reality Bites.
Twelve fictional stories by twelve
superb independent authors, each of whom is a card-carrying survivor of the
abyss. And these are their tales." _________________________________________________________
