I have the pleasure of having Annette Gisby on my blog today.
Annette, let's get to know you a little better.
Do you prefer
Milk chocolate or Dark?
I used to prefer milk chocolate, but
I can’t eat any sort of chocolate at the moment due to a recent diagnosis of
migraine associated vertigo and a lot of things I used to eat I’m not allowed
to any more.
Coffee or tea?
Neither, I never liked tea or
coffee, I don’t really like any hot drinks. I tend to drink fruit juice or
water.
Vodka or tequila?
Neither, I don’t drink alcohol at all.
Romance or a Thriller?
A thriller with a bit of romance ;)
Mystery or Horror?
Oh, that’s a tough one. I like both but if pushed I’d have
to say horror but not the ones filled with vampires or werewolves, give me
something original.
Did you always want to be an author?
When I was little I always had
stories in my head and used my dolls to act them out, as I got older I started
writing them down so that I would always have something to read later. I wrote
first for myself. Some of my friends told my English teacher that I was writing
stories, and not just the ones we’d be assigned. She asked if she could see
some of them. Reluctantly I said yes, as I’d never considered they were ever
going to be read by anyone else. Once she’d read some of my work, she said I
should submit them to magazines, but I was too nervous of rejection then, so it
was a long time before I sent any work out. It was when careers day came around
that I’d finally decided I wanted to be an author, but the careers advisor
didn’t want to put that down on the form. “It’s not a very realistic goal
though, is it?” I think that made me even more determined to do it.
What authors had
an impact on you growing up and as an adult?
I don’t remember reading any
particular authors as a child, I tended to read whatever I could get my hands
on, and some of them weren’t children’s books. When I turned fourteen, I was
allowed to join the adult section of our local library and one of the first
books I took out was a book of short stories by Stephen King. It was the first
time I’d read any outright horror, although I’d read a few ghost stories before
that. I was amazed and terrified all at once. His writing is quite plain, I
would say, but so well-written and you just want to keep reading. For any aspiring
writer, I’d recommend his non-fiction book, ‘On writing’. It was almost like
reading about myself in that book.
Did anyone in your life
influence you or encouraged you to be a writer?
As I said above, my English teacher
certainly. It was my husband who gave me the impetus to actually finish a
novel. I had lots of parts of books written and would give him each chapter to
read as I finished it, but one day he said he wasn’t going to read any more
until I’d finished one and he would read the whole book. That book became my
first novel, Silent Screams. If it hadn’t been for him, I don’t think I would
have finished any book for a long time.
What is your
writing atmosphere like?
I have a study with a desktop
computer, but I do a lot of writing longhand in notebooks still. I find filling
a page easier than a blank computer screen. It’s too easy to get distracted
when you’re on the computer, especially if it’s connected to the internet. You
start looking at emails or looking up something for research and suddenly an
hour’s gone by and you haven’t done much writing. I have to just write, I don’t
listen to music when I write, it’s just me and the character’s heads.
What is your favorite aspect or
writing? Your Least Favorite?
The fact that once I’ve written a
story, I can go back and re-read it at any time. I tend to write the things that I want to
read. My least favourite is probably trying to promote a book at the same time
as you’re writing or getting edits done on another one. Sometimes there just
don’t seem to be enough hours in the day.
Your current book your
promoting is:
The Chosen, a male/male fantasy
romance.
How did you come up with the your
story line?
I wanted to write an adult fairy
tale for adults for NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month). I had the prince,
Severin and I thought he needed a princess to rescue. I could picture Severin
quite well but I couldn’t get a handle on the princess at all. Instead, I kept
being haunted by a handsome male slave called Havyn. Severin nodded sagely,
that’s who he wanted to rescue. In all my characterization of Severin, it took
me a while to realise he was gay. Once that happened, the story flowed much
better and it took off from there.
How do you choose
your characters names?
A lot of the time by browsing baby
name books or websites and sometimes see which names speak to me. A lot of the
other names in The Chosen I made up myself, but Havyn and Severin were from a
baby book. Those two names spoke to me and I knew that’s who the characters
were. You just get a feeling sometimes.
The Chosen
Prince Severin has been brought up to put duty before all
else. Now, his duty is to marry and produce an heir. He has his choice of
princesses. Unfortunately, his passion is for princes.
Havyn has been a slave all his life. When his powers are
discovered, he finds himself purchased and freed by a Prince and apprenticed to
the royal wizard, Ildar. His duty is to stay chaste to keep his powers strong.
Unfortunately, his passion is for Severin.
With kingdoms at war, the throne hanging in the balance, and
magic in the air, can the two men find happiness together, or is duty more
important than love?
Annette Gisby grew up
in a small town in Northern Ireland. Being a very small town there were no bookshops
and a small library. When she'd devoured every book she could get her hands on
in the library, she started writing her own stories so that she would always
have something to read.
When not writing she enjoys reading, playing The Sims,
cinema and theatre. She loves to travel, especially ancient castles and
deserted beaches, great places for inspiration.
She currently lives in Hampshire with her husband, a
collection of porcelain dolls and enough books to fill a library. The library
is diminishing gradually since the discovery of ebooks but still has a long way
to go.
Excerpt:
“What is going on in here?” demanded Ildar from the doorway.
“Severin? What are you doing with my apprentice?”
“Iri and I were just sorting out Havyn’s new wardrobe,” said
Severin, waving to Havyn that he could get dressed again. Havyn quickly pulled
on the tunic and leggings Ildar had given him on his first night at the palace.
A fierce blush heated his cheeks.
“Havyn is my apprentice!” snapped Ildar. “He is my
responsibility. Furs and velvets? Silks? A wizard has no need for all of that.
I will ensure Havyn gets all the clothing he needs, not you.”
Havyn wondered how the wizard could talk back so forcefully
to a prince without worrying about execution. Maybe wizards had no fear of
death.
“He’s my responsibility,” protested Severin, his hands on
his hips as he stared the wizard down. “I bought him. He’s mine!”
~Leave your email address in a comment for a chance to win a FREE copy of The Chosen!~
Thank you for letting me appear on you blog, Tamaria. It was a very interesting interview to do :)
ReplyDeleteTake care,
Annette