I’m getting excited about the launch of Fractured Dreamer next month so I thought I’d spread some of that around 😎

For most of the year, people in my life pretend I have more normal hobbies – safe, ordinary things like skydiving or competitive fire-eating. But in the run-up to a book launch, all the difficult questions are wheeled out: Where do you get your ideas? Do you earn any money from writing? Why on Earth do you do this to yourself?

So, here’s my attempt at answering:

1. Where did I get the idea for Fractured Dreamer?

Honestly, it’s my way of trying to fathom how my mind works. I was exploring repressed emotions and how they manifest in the body, and somehow that led me into a fantasy world where the shape of those emotions can take on form… For some reason, I understand myself better when I coat myself liberally in metaphor (and preferably dragons).

2. What is my writing process?

Make a mess, then fix it. I do a bit of planning: I generally have a clear idea of the opening sequnce, the midpoint, and the ending before I start. But apart from that, I wing it, which inevitably means several crash-landings before I get it right.

I wrote a first draft of Fractured Dreamer in record time – about three months – and then spent nine months editing. One of my Beta readers tore my first draft apart, which it desperately needed, and I put it back together in a very different shape. Then a professional editor took a look and basically said ‘cut all the monologing and make something happen, damn it!’ – so I cut 15,000 words of angsty waffle and wrote 10,000 new words showing that angst in action. I laughed when one of the early reviews called the novel ‘pacy’ – my editor will be proud!

3. Can you earn a living as a writer?

Ha! It’s definitely something I do for love, not money (well, I might earn a little money if you all buy the book, hint, hint).

4. Why do you do it, then?

Because it’s endlessly surprising. Because the whole process mystifies me. Because I love those moments when a character does something unexpected and I go ‘Oh, that’s what the book’s about. Thank you. This is exactly what I needed to hear.’