Writers and Readers discussion

Please welcome author M T McGuire to our Q & A discussion. M T grew up on a windy down but now lives in Bury St Edmunds, in Suffolk with her partner, their son and a large hairy cat.
She has written several books and stories, including her award winning debut novel, Few Are Chosen, K'Barthan Trilogy: Part 1, a book brimming with car chases, humour, quirky characters, a hint of romance and a nice simple battle between good and evil.

M T's Goodreads profile:
M T McGuire

Hello there everyone,

First up a big thank you to AF for kindly inviting me here today. Second, thank you to everyone who has been kind enough to buy, download or enjoy any of my books. Please feel free to ask me anything you like whether it's about the books, the charcters, the process of writing or anything else that takes your fancy. I promise, I'll try to give a reasonably sensible answer!

Cheers

MTM

Hi M.T. - May I ask what has been the biggest obstacle you've faced in finding a publisher for your books, and, is writing your full-time occupation? If so, any tips on how to make that happen?

Thank you kindly :D

Yo, MTM!

I used to enjoy your funny comments on the Amazon forums before they exterminated the authors - where do you go for a chat these days?

Lexi

Hello Jeanne and Lexi...

Lexi yours is the shortest answer so I'll 'do' you first! Basically, I hang out on Goodreads, here, the Kindle UK Users Group and the Creative Reviews Group to name but three but mostly I tend to hang out on my own thread for The Wrong Stuff at the UK Amazon Meet Our Authors forum and my/my latest novel thread at UK Kindle Users Group on here.

I put in the odd appearance at Kindleboards but they're terribly serious over there. Seriously, somebody posted about selling 1000 copies of their book on Amazon in the first month which is effing amazing. I was really impressed so I said well done but I also asked if I could stand next to her for a while so the fairy dust could rub off. Totally died on my arse. Not a saussage.

I go to mobilereads as well and the Kindle UK Users' forum, but not so often.

I'm hoping to get people to come to me. When I get my rear into gear I'm hoping to set up Room 101 on my blog... it's taking a while though, even though I have the first article.

Er... yeh... I think that's it.

Cheers

MTM

Jeanne wrote: "Hi M.T. - May I ask what has been the biggest obstacle you've faced in finding a publisher for your books, and, is writing your full-time occupation? If so, any tips on how to make that happen?"

Dear Jeanne,

I feel a bit of a charlatan as there is something I have to 'fess up to here. I actually published it myself. I finished Few Are Chosen in September 2009 and spent the next year yes one full year people, getting polite no's from 5 agents. I decided that if I wanted to actually see my book in print BEFORE I die I should publish it myself. So I did.

I must confess that I religiously fell into every pitfall and trap the newbie indie could possibly fall into, I probably even invented some new ones to fall into, just to keep things interesting. However, I think I've definitely upped my game a bit since the first one came out. I have two reasonably well-written novels and some light fluff shorts. I used professional proof readers, editors for all of them and professional designers for the covers of the novels. I've set myself up as a sole trader, running my own publishing house. The result is Hamgee University Press.

Do I do it full time? I wish. I am a stay at home Mum with a 3 and a half year old boy. He is an absolute scream but writing is a cerebral activity which takes time and application and looking after McMini is like having your brains stirred with a wooden spoon all day. So he does three days at nursery a week and I write during those. All writing activity stops in the holidays which, by the end, makes for a somewhat crabby MT.

So I suppose, in short, I could see nothing was going to happen unless I did it.

So I bought Aiming at Amazon by Aaron Shepherd and set up a Lightning Source account as he (then) advocated - he recommends creatspace now - a stock issue at Amazon.com but as my sales are nearly all in the UK where createspace doesn't operate, it hasn't impacted on me so far.

I am a bit of a 'book them and they will come' so I hope that so long as I maintain a reasonably high standard, my books will eventually sell on recommendation. We shall see.

Hang on... missed a bit. Edited to add, tips to make that happen.
1. Never give up.
2. Don't concentrate on how much you have to do, just cut the workload into bitesized chunks and deal with them one at a time. Before you know it you'll suddenly realise you've done it.
3. Don't compare yourself to other people. Lots of people, especially on the Kindleboards.com forum, sell thousands of books a month but they a) might have written more books than you b) might have more time and c) might be a bit more famous. Set yourself targets that are realistic for you and accept that your circumstances are unique.
4. Real Life will get in the way of your writing. Keep a notebook with you all the time so you can jot down ideas. That way, you won't lose track of your plot or your ideas.

I hope that answers your question.

Cheers

MTM

Hi MTM. Found you! Had to join the group in order to comment. Looks like a good one to belong to.

I'd be interested to know how you got started writing. Have you always wanted to be a writer?

Wow Lyn

Thank you for joining and for turning up! Hmm... well... I've been writing pretty much since I could hold a pen. I think I was five when I wrote my first work which was called "Charles the Dragonslayer". Snappy title huh? And believe it or not it was about a bloke called Charles who went round slaying dragons - yeh, even then it was fantasy - and sometimes getting kissed by the pretty lady. Phnark.

However the business of writing actual letters and words is quite an uphill strugle for a five year old so as you can imagine the stories were short and pithy and Charles was somewhat taciturn. That's the joy of typing almost as fast as you can think. It took me ages getting round to learning to touch type but it's a very handy skill. Definitely recommended for any budding author.

Edited: Pants sorry about this I keep missing bits off the questions. Not helped by the fact my cat keeps patting my fingers and when he isn't doing that he is resting his chin on them... which is really tickly.

I'm not sure I've always wanted to be a writer per-se but I've wanted to tell stories and if that means being a writer then it's what I'll do... if I'm making any sense there.

One of the most amazing things about publishing my book is that there I was, aged 40 and something that has existed in my head, secretly, for my entire life (K'Barth) is suddenly 'real' in that I can talk about it with other people for the first time. It's.... liberating.

Cheers

MTM

Hi MTM. KMM here! I'd love to know if The Pan of Hamgee is based on or influenced by a real person. He is almost an antihero yet there's something so gorgeous about him that if he has any basis in reality I'm behind you in the queue to chat him up!

Hi MT,

I'll confess upfront that I have not read your work, but after reading the above responses, I'm looking forward to your work! What should I start with?

I'm interested in your decision to self-publish as opposed to playing the agent query game forever. I don't know the publishing world on your side of the water (writing from Seattle), but I'm still toying with options here. I have two manuscripts: a second memoir and first novel. Having given up on the agent query process (yes, a year+ here and multiple revisions as well!), I'm now comparing CreateSpace and the world of small, independent publishers. Can you speak to the pros and cons of each? Are you publishing POD and do you have the same problems in the UK with bookstores refusing to carry POD books as we do here in the States? And finally, would you still recommend Aiming at Amazon or is there something more current you'd suggest?

Thanks for your thoughts,
Arleen

Ignite wrote: "Hi MTM. KMM here! I'd love to know if The Pan of Hamgee is based on or influenced by a real person. He is almost an antihero yet there's something so gorgeous about him that if he has any basis ..."

Mwah ha ha haargh! I love that you think he's gorgeous.

I suppose he's kind of my ideal man or at least the kind of man I find sexy. Only he's not because that statement implies that I have some control over his character development which is the antithesis of the truth. My characterisation technique is to wind them all up, set them down on the carpet and see where they wander off to. It can make plotting a bit tricky but I think it makes things more genuine if the plot is character driven.

I've another one of those wilful souls in the third book, General Moteurs, blimey oh reilly I've no idea what happened there but he's certainly his own man, or at least, his own grongle. I've started with his plot strand because it's the last thing I wrote for Book 2 and quite honestly, I've no clue what he's going to do next.

Sorry back to the matter in hand. So... as far The Pan's make up goes, there's actually a bit of myself in him and a quite a big chunk of my husband and a LOT of The Pan of Hamgee. If that makes any sense...

Actually there's a very badly drawn picture of the person I see in my head here http://on.fb.me/HYrCxI he's come out looking older though but that's just the epically bad drawing...

I'm very sorry he's not real, I have to admit, I'd quite like it if he was...

Phnark.

Cheers

MTM

I've seen that picture - on the cover of Unlucky Dip. I think it's the fact that your books are character driven that makes me love them. When I can't believe in the characters, they are 2 dimensional stereotypes, then no amount of clever plotting will get me back. So what if they all die! I also, since The Wrong Stuff, have a soft spot fot The Swamp thing, Big Merv.

Thanks so much for your wonderful answers. I very much appreciate you taking the time. Best of luck in all future endeavours :D

Arleen wrote: "Hi MT,

I'll confess upfront that I have not read your work, but after reading the above responses, I'm looking forward to your work! What should I start with?

I'm interested in your decision to s..."

That's alright, it's not a requirement! ;-)

If you are though... I think you should probably start with Few Are Chosen mainly because it's cheaper on Amazon at the moment than the introductory short... although Unlucky Dip Prequel to Few Are Chosen may be the cheap one on .com - I don't get to see the prices your side of the pond because it 'knows' I'm in the the UK.

Hmm... well, with reference to POD, here in the UK there's no problem with stores stocking my books. However, the ISBNs are in the name of Hamgee University Press. I don't know if Createspace ISBN's are in their name or whether you can purchase your own and whether that would make a difference. However, I think here, to have an ISBN under my own publishing house's name does make it look more as if I mean business.

To be honest I haven't looked at Createspace much. I don't like filling in a UK tax return so the idea of filing one in the US fills me with dread. So basically, if the company is in the US and is my publisher rather than my distributer it will withold 30% of my earnings for the IRS unless I can jump through a lot of hoops, fill in a lot of forms and send a lot of very precious original documents, like my passport, to the IRS. Some companies still do this even when they're merely distributing on your behalf, Createspace is one of them, Lightning Source don't so I use them.

I've heard that Createspace are very good and that if you're in the US using them is a no-brainer. They don't print in the UK though so if you do have a UK market it might be worth doing both and opting for UK and Australasian distribution with Lightning and going with Createspace at home. That, in a nutshell, is what the current advice from the pundits seems to be.

When it comes to the whole DIY or not to DIY then as a writer of fantasy - comic fantasy at that - I knew I hadn't a cat in hell's chance of finding a publisher in the UK so it wasn't really a decision. It was more a case of you've written this book, do you want to see it in print or not? I did so I self published.

Sorry, I know that's not the most articulate of answers but I hope it's useful.

Cheers

MTM

Hi MTM,

You say the drawing shows The Pan older than you envisage. For me he looks too serious and responsible. What I liked about him in the first book was that he always seemed about to do something we least expected, if not downright mad, and right from the beginning. Do you see him becoming more sensible as the books go on? Has he lost that fire that might result in burning down an apartment block?

Hi MTM
Caro calling, my my we do get around the world don't we? ;-)
I wanted to ask you two things:
1. Do you give a full identity & personality to each character you create and then design your plot or do you have an idea of plot and then create your characters? Or a combination of both?
2.Your work and style has been likened to the fantasy creations of Terry Pratchett which is on first glance a big complement....but does it actually hinder you when complements or likenesses are made to specific author styles?
Make that three things:
3. Is the Pan related to Clint Eastwood a passing thought came through my mind after perusing your identikit pic?
Oh if you'll permit four things:
4. What age range are your books aimed at or not as the case may be?
That's all:D

Robert wrote: "Hi MTM,

You say the drawing shows The Pan older than you envisage. For me he looks too serious and responsible. What I liked about him in the first book was that he always seemed about to do somet..."

Don't worry Robert, it's just because I can't do twinkly eyes, he's meant to have the merest hint of a smile going on there and eyes full of mischief. That said, on one level he is quite serious. He's desperately anxious to please and the fire is because he's an absolute spanner... he still lacks a meaningful sense of self-preservation but he is growing up as the story progresses. I don't think he'll ever lose his sense of humour or that streak of of mischief in him which makes him want to prick the bubble of the pompous and certainly I'm writing a scene with him now where he's behaving with something approaching manic glee as he stares certain death in the face.

Don't take the pictures too seriously. Bear in mind they are just to give an idea and drawn by someone who... well... to put not too fine a point on it, can't really draw.

Mwah hah ha haargh.

Cheers

MTM

Carol wrote: "Hi MTM
Caro calling, my my we do get around the world don't we? ;-)
I wanted to ask you two things:

Hello Carol,

Well... here we go.

1. Do you give a full identity & personality to each character you create and then design your plot or do you have an idea of plot and then create your characters? Or a combination of both?

Hmm... to be honest, with the K'Barthan Trilogy, I had a world; K'Barth and the political landscape and the events leading up to the er... finale. Then I had Ruth, The Pan, Gladys and Ada, Lord Vernon, Humbert the fowl mouthed parrot and a final scene. I wrote what is essentially the third book, badly (it was my first go at writing a novel) and lots of back story about The Pan came out which turned into Few Are Chosen so basically I just winged everything else from there.

2.Your work and style has been likened to the fantasy creations of Terry Pratchett which is on first glance a big complement....but does it actually hinder you when complements or likenesses are made to specific author styles?

Mwa ha ha haargh! Terry Pratchett oh yeh! (Squeezes expanding head back into house.) For the most part, as you suggest, I'm hugely flattered. I think it's OK so long as I believe they're accurate [edit: AAAARGH that sounds so arrogant meant accurate in that it's the same type of writing]. If people started getting disappointed because I didn't write like Geoffrey Archer I'd be a bit bemused.

Also if it was consistently one author it might put people off. However, luckily enough people have done the Adams (Douglas, obviously)/Fforde/Robert Rankin/Holt comparison so I guess I have the full set, which should negate any Pratchett comparisons that might put anyone off and vice versa. So, I guess yes it's flattering and no, I don't think it negates so long as I'm compared to enough different authors.

Make that three things:

This is getting like the Spanish Inquisition Sketch.

3. Is the Pan related to Clint Eastwood a passing thought came through my mind after perusing your identikit pic?

No, something more 17th Century than that - the cloak goes right down to his ankles, think Sandyman port with very much more understated but slightly Austin Powers-ish vibe going on underneath. Think back of Revolver http://www.jpgr.co.uk/pcs7009.html OK, the picture on the right, John Lennon on the left... or if you have a copy of the album check it out.

Oh if you'll permit four things:

This IS the Spanish Inquisition Sketch

4. What age range are your books aimed at or not as the case may be?

They are PG, Parental Guideance or what, in Britain, used to be an A. And they're aimed at anyone who's interested. I know that people from the age of 10 to 80 have read and enjoyed it so I'd say that despite the teen marketing tag, it's pretty universal.

Phew. Thanks for asking those. Made me think.

Cheers

MTM

Thank you for asking me all these questions everyone. My brain is not used to doing this much thinking, it's getting hot in here and the room's full of smoke so I'm just going to duck out for a little while and get McMini his supper. Keep 'em coming, I'll be right back.

Cheers

MTM

Cheers MTM most enlightening...I'm sure you'll get your own back someday:)
If there's ever a Q&A on the editing process...phew there isn't, I'm safe.

Mind your reply has actually made my mind whirr on overdrive....how can rabbits, Fiver and Hazel ( Adams) be linked with murder most foul (Rankin) and the fantasy world of the Pan of Hamgee (MT McGuire) ???
Till later
Caro

Helo MTM,

First, I would like to say bravo to your success! I will add your book "Few are Chosen," to my books to read.

Where do you draw your strength from?
What inspires you?

Thank you
Ann Lee

Hola MTM!

Some corking questions coming up here - I second the Clint Eastwood theme to the FB pic!

I've read and really liked FAC but The Wrong Stuff is still in my TBR pile, so am looking forward to getting a moment to read that.

The thing that I really like about your writing is that it neatly wrong-foots that thing that happens in slightly duff fantasy where all the people are too self-consciously "fantastical", ie, some nubile leather-clad priestess called skedufjekiu who has to save the world with a misogynistic warrior known as fjhfgjh with a magic sword, etc etc. What yours does very nicely is to take slightly outrageous characters and then make them really normal, so despite the fact that Big Merv is a huge orange bloke with antennae, you can recognise ten blokes like him in any given pub.

It's a nice trick, because though it is highly amusing fantasy, it's also so human somehow that people who don't like fantasy but do like well-drawn characters end up really enjoying the read.

What made you try that - was it a conscious decision or just the way the characters turned out when you wrote them?

JAC

Hello NY Ken

Lorks, that's quite a list. Deep questions... which will take some answering, because I'm not!

1] How important is world-building to you? Do you do a lot of world-building before you start writing the book?

In a way, this sort of doesn't apply because K'Barth has been in my head for some years... all of mine actually so I know it as well as the 'real' world. Probably.

However, it looks as if it happens like this: I start with an idea thing X took place and caused Y and I let it develop, then I start to get the politics and the reason why one event might have lead to another. I wander around like a tourist, listening to snippets of conversation, exploring the political system and eventually I start talking to people. They tell me their stories and usually that's the point when I have enough to start writing.

Where I have to be careful is balancing the knowledge I impart about the world - too much and it scrubs too much off the pace, too little and nobody has a clue what's going on. I'm a particularly bad offender for just forgetting to tell people something important and obvious without which my audience will be lost. Luckily I attend a writers' group and they always spot those.

2] I was reading up on your bio and found out that when you were younger, your dad was a housemaster for a school, and your family lived on site. My question is, what did you learn about human nature from that experience?

I learned not to be particularly overawed by boys which is handier for a teenaged girl than you might think.

My parents are very smart and have a great deal of emotional intelligence, so I learned a lot about what it means to be loved and looked up to. Mum and Dad just didn't seem to notice but even now, I mention my parents to someone who went to that school they tend to go misty eyed. It made my criteria for success slightly different to other people's.

Watching my parents at work I learned to spot when a crisis is brewing, I think I'm reasonably good at spotting people who are struggling with an emotional problem.

I learned about office politics - because when you live in your dad's office, you can't help but learn that.

I also learned to poke fun at the pompous and self important - because my parents (and now my brother, who does the same job) always have.

I learned that often when people are unpleasant to those around them, it's because they're unhappy - but that sometimes they are just bastards.

I learned not to plan because a) something would always happen to thwart anything we planned and b) because actually, we're all smart enough to organise things by the seat of our pants - planning is just about control.

3] In your opinion, how would you define hope?

Blimey that's a tough one. Hope is not so far from tenacity is it? It's about believing, never giving up but being realistic at the same time.

Er... I think.

Phew! Those were tricky. I hope I've answered them to your satisfaction.

Cheers

MTM

Carol wrote: "Cheers MTM most enlightening...I'm sure you'll get your own back someday:)
If there's ever a Q&A on the editing process...phew there isn't, I'm safe...."

Mwah ha ha hargh, I will have my revenge... at some point! Glad you enjoyed the answers.

Cheers

MTM

M wrote: "Carol wrote: "Cheers MTM most enlightening...I'm sure you'll get your own back someday:)
If there's ever a Q&A on the editing process...phew there isn't, I'm safe...."

Mwah ha ha hargh, I will ha..."

After the day you've had a decent glass of and feet up or another chapter done would be deserved ;-)

OK Ann, here we go!

1. Where do you draw your strength from?

My strength? Lordy, thank you, I don't feel very strong. I suppose I do have confidence because I believe in what I'm doing. I've written a book I really like. It doesn't mean other people will but I do and that has given me confidence. It's not going to set the world on fire but I suppose it's that I've made the best quality product I can and because I know I've done it to the best of my ability it's easier to sell it.

If you mean how have I done this..? Well... to be honest, I believe life is a gift and that you should take it with both hands. It's pointless putting things off until tomorrow because you don't know how long you have. So if I have an ambition, I strive to achieve it if I can especially if it's a simple, straightforward and can be done with relatively little expense at home, like writing a book.

2. What inspires you?

Music. So much of my stuff appears when I play music it's laughable. I got about 2,000 words the other day playing endlessly by Mercury Rev. It just popped into my head so I played the song a couple of times to get the dialogue right and wrote it down. It's not usually quite that straightforward though.

I hope that answers the question.

Cheers

MTM

Wotcher JAC!

Thank you for being so lovely about my writing, you turn a pretty mean phrase yourself so I am especially chuffed to get such an endorsement. So... to answer your question.

1. I get the Clint Eastwood but he never entered my head. Definitely more hispanic, Zorro or Mr Sandyman port.

2. Was it a conscious decision to write about non humans like humans?

Hmm... well, I'm quite passionate about the idea that we're all the same, ladies, men, gay, straight, religious, athiest, black, white... inside we're made of the same stuff. But we have lots of baggage about each other.

So if you want to construct emotional relationships between your characters that ring true it means you have to write about that baggage AND... if you're going to do that there are a lot of eggshells to walk over. For me, to deal honestly with the relationships between different races and cultures, you can't write about actual humans, you have to write about something else. It's the thing I really admire about Terry Pratchett. He gets away with stuff he couldn't begin to mention if the books weren't funny and the characters involved were real people.

So if you want to write about human beings, in some ways, you can be more honest and also a bit more brutal if your characters actually aren't human. And so mine are not.

Was it a conscious decision?

No. It's just what comes out when I write. I have always written this stuff from the year dot. I think probably, something in me wants to impart the kinds of ideas about human nature that you can't when you're writing about real humans.

Or perhaps it's my baggage. Perhaps it's me that's unable to grasp the nettle. Hnur hnur hnur hnurrrr.

Cheers

MTM

Jeanne wrote: "Thanks so much for your wonderful answers. I very much appreciate you taking the time. Best of luck in all future endeavours :D"

Jeanne, a pleasure. I hope they help!

Cheers

MTM

Ignite wrote: "I've seen that picture - on the cover of Unlucky Dip. I think it's the fact that your books are character driven that makes me love them. When I can't believe in the characters, they are 2 dimens..."

I'm really glad that you and others like you enjoy all the drivvel I write!

Cheers

MTM

I think I'm lurking. I love your answers. Go for that Spanish Inquisition!

Sheila wrote: "I think I'm lurking. I love your answers. Go for that Spanish Inquisition!"

You lurk away and feel free to ask something if the mood takes you!

Cheers

MTM

Yo Ken...

Thank you for those kind words! And so, the next batch ;-)

1] Are people born good writers?

Yes and no. I think that writing is like anything else in that you can be born with a talent but you have to practise, use it and help it grow. I started trying to write a novel in my early 20s but I didn't crack it until I was 41. Sure I had some time off here and there but it was still at least 13 years of hard slog before the penny dropped. Then again I may be particularly slow. Mwah ha ha ha hargh.

2] In your work, does your protagonist pretty much reflect your own view of the world and how it operates?

Absolutely, although I suppose I'd view my work as being from the point of view of the male lead, yes the female lead, yes and the baddie, absolutely not.

3] In your opinion, what is essential in making antagonist(s) interesting for readers?

That they are true. I was talking to my sister in-law about this earlier today and she remarked on how much of myself and McOther she could see in one of the characters. I think that in order for characters to be true then maybe there has to be a bit of yourself or people you know in there because otherwise you're not writing from experience. But at the same time, it has to be just aspects in common, you can't base a whole character on someone you know. Personally, if I really dislike all the characters in a book, I find it hard to care what happens to them so for example, the Magus by John Fowles, is a fantastic book but I didn't enjoy it because everyone in it was a total smecker. I guess I don't really like watching a bunch of bastards fight it out. I like characters to be appealing, to be the kinds of people you would want to hang out with so you can imagine yourself right in there with them. I suppose it all comes down to whether you get emotionally or intellectually involved with books.

I spend a lot of time trying to make my books stack up intellectually but I probably write them emotionally, to be honest.

Right, it's late here in Blighty so I must away to my bed but please feel free to carry on asking questions and I'll answer them tomorrow morning, in your sleep! Mwah ha hahargh.

Cheers

MTM

PS, on a cheeky note, the light answer as given by McOther, to one of your previous queries.

Hope is believing I'll get to sleep with David Tennant.
Pragmatism is accepting that it may not happen.

MTM, you've certainly had a workout here! I suspect your writer's cave looks inviting about now.

Hugs,
Lyn

Lyn wrote: "MTM, you've certainly had a workout here! I suspect your writer's cave looks inviting about now.

Hugs,
Lyn"

Mwah ha hah ha haaargh! You're not wrong there Lyn! I hadn't expected it all to get quite so metaphysical! I'm enjoying myself though.

I should be around for the next few hours. I have a Christening to go to this afternoon - sorry about that it cropped up after I'd booked my slot with AF. So, I will be off line for a couple of hours over my afternoon (everyone else's morning I suspect) but keep the questions coming and I'll answer them when I get back.

Cheers

MTM

"Hope is believing I'll get to sleep with David Tennant."

But SLEEPING with him would be such a wasted opportunity!

Ignite wrote: ""Hope is believing I'll get to sleep with David Tennant."

But SLEEPING with him would be such a wasted opportunity!"

Oh alright then, Hope is believing I'll get to have torrid sex with David Tennant (preferably on repeated occasions).

Is that better? Deary dear. I hope the poor man never ever reads this... or even worse his wife. Yeurk! Imgaine how embarrassing that would be.

Hnur Hnur Hnurrrrrgh.

MTM

If he can't stand the heat ....
(He should stay out of your bedroom!)

Carol wrote: "Cheers MTM most enlightening... Mind your reply has actually made my mind whirr on overdrive....how can rabbits, Fiver and Hazel ( Adams) be linked with murder most foul (Rankin) and the fantasy world of the Pan of Hamgee (MT McGuire) ???"

Sorry, I've edited the original post to make that clearer; Douglas Adams - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy et al, Robert Rankin - Brentford Trilogy etc.

Wasn't too clear there was I?

Cheers

MTM

Ignite wrote: "If he can't stand the heat ....
(He should stay out of your bedroom!)"

Unless he's been dragged/forced in there at gunpoint...

I'm curious (as a writer of the darker variety of fantasy) how difficult it is keeping a lighter tone in your books? Does it come naturally or is it more of a planned process?

A.F. wrote: "I'm curious (as a writer of the darker variety of fantasy) how difficult it is keeping a lighter tone in your books? Does it come naturally or is it more of a planned process?"

That's an excellent question... sorry I've had to think about it a while as you can see.

To be honest, the humour it isn't always intended. I just can't do serious. I am an absolute spanner and on the whole people tend to laugh whether I want them to or not. So for me the trick has always been to make it look deliberate. Oh and to milk any positive results as much as possible.

That said, I had a bit of a moment when I finished The Wrong Stuff, my most recent book and the second in the K'Barthan trilogy, because it was a bit serious. It's definitely not as funny as the first book, Few Are Chosen, and there are bits where I'm well out of my comfort zone because they are about things that are not at all amusing. So, even with all the flying cars and the silly jokes, I was still unbelievably nervous; both when I showed it to the beta readers and when I eventually published it. I was worried everyone would think, 'ooo M T's not funny any more!'

However, the way I write is pretty much exactly the way I talk so in certain respects I don't have any trouble keeping it light but I do have to trim it and hone it to make it pointy. Also, while I don't necessary plan certain scenes to be funny I am not above thinking 'phew here's a bit of light relief' when something pans out a bit more slapstick than usual. Conversely, even the tense, serious scenes are a bit light because they are described by me.

Does that make sense?

Cheers

MTM

M wrote: "A.F. wrote: "I'm curious (as a writer of the darker variety of fantasy) how difficult it is keeping a lighter tone in your books? Does it come naturally or is it more of a planned process?"

That'..."

It makes perfect sense. I do the same thing over on the dark side; I have to watch myself and make sure the creep factor doesn't go overboard. And even when I try humour it turns out a little on the black side.

A.F. wrote: "M wrote: "A.F. wrote: "I'm curious (as a writer of the darker variety of fantasy) how difficult it is keeping a lighter tone in your books? Does it come naturally or is it more of a planned proces..."

That's a hell of a thing. I would love to be able to write something really scary but apart from the fact I would scare myself I know it'd come out like Kenny Everett's Bloodbath at the House of Death.

Do you naturally confine the bulk of your reading to the type of stuff you write or do you find you read other types of book more? And as well as books do other types of the arts (for want of a better word) inspire you?

I'm interested because they always say you should read around your genre and while I enjoy fantasy, I couldn't read it alone, with nothing else. It would be like existing on a diet of one food. To get things out of my brain, I have to put stuff in so I have to read other books as well as write them.

But when it comes to the types of books I read, I have to mix things up and I am sure my writing is all the richer for it. I also have to admit - a bit shamefully - that my biggest influences don't always come from other writers but from music, films and TV.

OK peps, once again, it's late here in blighty and time for me to go to bed but have a think, leave your questions and rest assured, when you wake up in the morning, I'll have left some answers!

Cheers

MTM

M wrote: "A.F. wrote: "M wrote: "A.F. wrote: "I'm curious (as a writer of the darker variety of fantasy) how difficult it is keeping a lighter tone in your books? Does it come naturally or is it more of a p..."

I read all sorts of stuff: fantasy, science fiction, mysteries, historical fiction, non-fiction, historical romance, spy thrillers. About the only books I don't read are horror novels; I'm too chicken.
I'm influenced quite a bit by film, music and TV as well, especially in my poetry.

Hey i'm emma, erm, yeah what was your biggest huddle you had to get through as a author? and is publishing as hard as it sounds? thanks

A.F. wrote: "M wrote: "A.F. wrote: "M wrote: "A.F. wrote: "I'm curious (as a writer of the darker variety of fantasy) how difficult it is keeping a lighter tone in your books? Does it come naturally or is it m..."

Hnur Hnur hnur hnuurrrr. I, also, am far too custard-coloured to read horror!

Cheers

MTM

Hi MTM (or, now we're friends, can I call you M?) ;)

It's your quirky sense of humour, and the fact that the books are fantasy which is one of my favoured genres, that drew me to read your work. I am only a recent convert but it was the back-and-forth banter between you, other authors and readers on a forum that drew me to decide I liked your style. It must be hard to fit forum chatter into precious writing time - do you find it beneficial and what's the balance/trade-off for time spent engaging with readers/potential readers and actually getting on with the work.

(Complicated question - you can see why I'm not a writer!)

Emm wrote: "Hey i'm emma, erm, yeah what was your biggest huddle you had to get through as a author? and is publishing as hard as it sounds? thanks"

Hello Emma

Thank you very much for asking me a question, please don't be upset when I giggle at the huddle typo... Mwah ha hahhargh - ok, sorry that wasn't a giggle and it certainly wasn't tactful when you've been kind enough to ask me a question by I have a mental image of myself being jostled lovingly by well meaning furry creatures. Sorry. Moving swiftly on.

OK so my biggest hurdle well there are two.

Hurdle number one, ongoing, is my piss-poor ability at sales. God knows I used to be a marketing manager working in a houshold name, it's not as if I don't know what to do but unfortunately, all my experience is in a situation when everybody already knows what the product is - and that's a LOT easier than trying to persuade people to try something they've never heard of. Worse, the usual marketing techniques, free samples and the like, don't really work as well when you're selling books or at least, not unless you're already an established mid-list author with a following. In fact, as far as I can see the only way to sell some books is er... to sell some books. Bit of a catch 22 really!

The second hurdle was a combination of dodgy work/life balance and the stress I put myself under writing the second book (ie, trying to do it fast). Now, to be honest I'm a lucky, lucky bleeder on the Real Life front but I'm a stay at home Mum with a 3 year old, no family near by and elderly parents/in laws who live a long way away. It gets insanely busy and intense and if anything goes wrong, it's the writing time that has to go. Alas, writing, to me, is like a bad crack habit. So when I have to stop for more than about two weeks - in the school holidays for example - I can get a little twitchy.

There came a point, last year, when I had to stop for a couple of months. Mwah ha hah harrgh! Talk about cold turkey! I discovered just how grumpy I become when the writing privileges are revoked.

Luckily, at the point when I was thinking, 'she cannae take no more, Captain she'll blow' and beginning to behave like the mad 'Kill Clouseau' Police Commissioner out of the Pink Panther Films, McOther declared a holiday. I got shingles but we went anyway; packed up McMini and fled for a week to Alsace... which I can thoroughly recommend by the way. Even with shingles. It was a tonic. When I came back, I was able to look at my days objectively and find new time to write. Sanity returned.

I think I've got the 'work' life balance sorted now but it took some time.

Cheers

MTM

Hello again Ken.

Right, more answers coming up!

1] In reference to good and evil, is fantasy better at exploring such dichotomies than other genres?

That's an interesting point. You know, I think it probably is, in that, like the baggage between different types of people, you can be more distinct about the differences - or the similarities - between good and evil if the protagonists displaying them aren't human. However, I don't think the fantasy setting or the non-humanity of the protagonists makes quite such a difference here as it does in the case of the baggage.

Probably because good and evil are aspects in everyone whereas the prejudices, awkwardness or differences we may feel towards one another are not universal to everyone in quite the same way.

2] In your opinion, as a genre, what is fantasy particularly good at exploring?

Well... as I said to JAC, I think it does serve well to explore the differences between people but so does humour. I think taking a standard conflict - say racism - out of its real-world environment and putting it in a fantasy world, can make it easier to can show it up for the load of old bollocks it is.

It also means you can take themes which are interesting, but probably a bit overdone and make them... well... interesting again. I've based a lot of the Grongles (the 'bad' guys) on Nazism in Germany in the 1930s. It could have happened anywhere and did in several other places and I'm interested in how and why...

Or things like the Prague spring, which didn't work in the 60s but then later in 90s did when there was enough critical mass. So how and why do these things succeed sometimes and fail at others? Is it to do with the conceptions of the people involved. Did the people of the 90s just believe enough or were their leaders just pragmatic enough to see that subdjugating and opressing people is not logical and is a useless government strategy long term.

Is it simply about belief and optimism or is it about the resolve of the governments being challenged? Success, or failure, of these ventures is certainly not always down to the presence, or lack, of international pressure.

There is also that old idea that to achieve a laudable outcome - freedom of expression, democracy etc, some 'bad' things might have to be done. Are they justified? Or not?

I think all this is stuff which, like the differences between people, can be quite raw. So maybe it is easier to explore in a fantasy setting...

Or is it just that I find it is? Phark!

3] Do you have any particular themes you like to write about?

As above also the idea of 'right' and 'wrong' versus political expedience. Ie, Syria versus Libia. From here the Syrians look quite unlucky. If their Assad regime had fallen out with the Russians and the Chinese before it all kicked off the rebels would probably have Nato help. As it is....

This all sounds very serious. I should point out that my principle aim, with any book, is to engage, entertain and make people laugh. Or perhaps make people laugh, engage and entertain. However, these themes do seem to have crept in despite the fact I never meant my works to have a serious side.

I hope that answers your questions!

Cheers

MTM