Can you tell readers a little bit about yourself and what
inspired to write in this particular genre?
I’ve grown up in
different parts of the world, often in buildings which appeared to have
something . . .not quite right about them; strange encounters that did not make
sense at the time, tales of witch doctors, hauntings and the inexplicable –
these all left me intrigued (and of course, the usual gamut of fictional ghost
tales without which I believe no library is truly complete !)
What inspired you to write this book?
This year marks the (sesqui)centenary
of M.R.James’s birth; I thought I would celebrate in my own way by writing a
ghost story. Once I started thinking about it, images came into my mind of a
rotting bouquet and dresses made of cobwebs; from there the story of a haunted
house began to take shape.
Please tell us about your latest release.
It’s a ghost tale – actually, a novelette; a bit longer than
a short story, not long enough to be a novella. Set between the 1560s and 1930s, it has cobwebs, cocktails and crises -
I hope in an entertaining fashion.
Do you have a special formula for creating characters'
names? Do you try to match a name with a certain meaning to attributes of the
character or do you search for names popular in certain time periods or
regions?
My first thought is always to check that the names would
have been used in the period: it’s the first giveaway of a mind not quite in
tune with the period they are writing about, if the name is not right.
Is there a character that you enjoyed writing more than any
of the others?
As it is a short tale, I had only the briefest of
acquaintances with them all, but I think I liked Gerry Torbin and Lydia Maydew
the best. Gerry is’a baggy haystack in tweeds’, a bookish don, often unaware of
what’s happening around him. Lydia is the eldest daughter acting as hostess in
her parents’ absence and doing her best to keep things on an even keel :
despite unpredictable boilers and ‘something nasty in the attic’.
Do you
have a formula for developing characters? Like do you create a character sketch
or list of attributes before you start writing or do you just let the character
develop as you write?
They tend
to jump into my head, usually as hazy images rather than words. I can see them
moving about; they sit in the wings awaiting their cues – or else they barge in
while I am trying to write, interrupting each other – and I
occasionally let them continue, depending on how relevant they are to plot.
Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? How do you deal with
it?
In writing as with painting, I usually (well, pretty much
always) have several different stories on the go – it’s finding the time to
have a writer’s block that’s more of a problem!
But I think having a range of worlds to visit helps prevent writer’s
block: if I am sticking on a point in the one story, I can leave it, go to
another story(and world) and carry on with that. Occasionally the mind becomes
stale or tired; then it’s time to stand back, go and do something else and come
back to it fresh.
Do you write in different genres?
Mystery, paranormal – I am also interested in steampunkery
and am experimenting with it (under another guise…)
When did you consider yourself a writer?
Hard to say; I have always scribbled, ever since I could
string letters together – and I still think of
myself as a scribbler, a doodler; a
Other than writing, what are some of your interests, hobbies
or passions in life?
I paint and illustrate as well– ideally, I try to balance
these two out; at the moment I have two to three book covers to design for a
fellow writer, and a book to finish illustrating before spring…. I would like
to spend more time on set design (model making !) but time gets eaten up in so
many things. I do have a fascination with animation, and enjoy creating
trailers for books.
What was the last amazing book you read?
Probably Mr Norrell and Jonathan Strange; it is a wonderful
amble in the countryside for me, a lovely book to have by me during the
summertime.
What can readers expect next from you?
There is a ghost anthology in the planning with fellow
authors : again, to chime in with the M.R.James centenary. With any luck it
will be ready before Christmas. I have
also completed a full-length mystery novel which is with a
publisher at present.
Where can readers find you on the web?
These are the places where I am most active:
@AuthorsAnon
Would you like to leave readers with a little teaser or
excerpt from the book?
Hmmmm, perhaps the opening ….
Dust, darkness and cobwebs.
Snrrip,snip went
the scissors.
A scrabbling, a squealing as
Genus Rattus made his escape; some things are beyond the pale even for rodents
of the night.
Snrrip,
snrrip. Snip, snap.
Another cobweb, hanging by a
thread. Snip went the scissors again. The thread snapped, the cobweb floated in
drunken, gyrating fashion till it was swallowed up in shadow.
1930
When Aubrey Marchant's engagement
to Eleanor Maydew was announced to his friends, he received mixed blessings.
‘The Maydews are a bohemian lot
– not many servants, even before the War.’
‘Keen on brown bread and
vegetables – don't expect too much in the way of creature comforts.’
‘Brave chap, I am sure you'll
find the country air bracing.’
‘And Eleanor comes of good
stock, too. Never mind the burst water pipes.’
Aubrey managed to shrug off
most of these under a jocular guise. One of his closest friends however, let
slip something that would come back to him later.
‘I wouldn't mind the rest of it
– only I believe it may be a House of Spirits. Hope you can sleep all right at
nights.’
Aubrey laughed at the time.
The Maydews’ house was
indeed lacking some of the more modern
conveniences – but the fireplaces were still fully functional and well stoked
most evenings (for the early summer air still proved a little chill), his room
was beautifully furnished, and, it had to be said, fairly draught-proof.
May, the middle sister, had
been busy in the garden, to the mute distress of Hicks the gardener. However,
the fruits of her labour could not be denied: huge creamy roses, squeezed in
with blue delphiniums, nodded heavy-headed in their vases, offering a warm,
fragrant welcome.
Bertie, Eleanor’s brother,
collected Aubrey from the station and in his usual breezy fashion extolled the
virtues of countryside versus city. ‘There are some wonderful walks – and we
have a bicycle or two; you do cycle?’
Aubrey had not been in a saddle
of any kind since schooldays, and felt no very urgent need to renew the
acquaintance; however, he dutifully mustered some semblance of enthusiasm for
things generally rustic.
‘Gregory is already here,’
continued Bertie, once they were established in the family hearth, ‘perhaps you
met him at the Athenaeum? – old chum from ’Varsity, doing a bit of research, so
he’ll probably spend most of his time in the library.’
‘Yes, quite a full house – we’re expecting our
cousin Penny tomorrow,’ added Lydia, the eldest of the Maydews and titular head
of the family in their parents’ absence. ‘And there will be some more people
dropping in over the weekend – actor friends of Bertie’s.’
‘Freddy Drew is a stage
director actually, and a pretty good one at that, too,’ corrected Bertie. ‘He’s
putting on a new production; they’re touring the counties and he asked me if I
could put a few of them up for a couple of nights while they do Dulton, so of
course I said yes. Thought it would be fun.’
‘I’m sure it will be, Bertie,
but we still need to find the rooms for them to sleep in!’ This mild
remonstrance from Lydia, who was taking her responsibilities seriously. She
drew a mock sigh. ‘Well, we’ll open up the old wing; or perhaps a few people could
sleep at Mrs Beasley’s. Although what we shall do if the parents decide to cut
it all short and head home in the middle …’
‘Egypt, is it?’
‘The last I heard, they were
heading for Switzerland, then up to Paris.’
The parents had been on a long
planned tour since the spring, in bohemian tradition; they were both artistic
by nature: Maydew père wrote poetry, Eunice his wife was a watercolourist. So
far, letters home had been peppered with comments on the view from the hotel
window, the latest culinary disaster and how difficult it was to find decent
tea. Art had not featured heavily.
‘I like a bit of theatre when I
have the time,’ said Aubrey, with enthusiasm.
‘Yes, Bertie, are we going to be
invited to the opening night?’ asked May.
‘But of course! He’s
practically demanded our presence – and a dinner at Matheson’s afterwards!’
‘Matheson’s, eh … ’
‘What is the play?’
‘Oh some old thing they’ve just
re-discovered, which had been sitting around in a library for an age –
apparently it might be an early work by the Bard, although naturally that’s all
very much in dispute. No doubt it will be quite a giggle –’
‘Oooh, men in tights!’
‘Any girls in tights?’
‘Unlikely; ain’t a pantomime
after all – ruffs and what do they call’em – farthingales, more like.’
‘Powder and wigs … ’
‘Gadzooks and by Bacchus and so
on. Yes, it will probably be quite hopeless. Still, Freddy does his stuff well.
I shall go if nobody else does.’
‘Don’t be silly, Bertie, of
course we shall all come. It will be a lark.’
No talk of burst pipes as yet.
There was an abundance of brown bread, however.
But while the Maydews tended to eat raw carrots and salad, their cook
ensured there was meat for their guests. Aubrey retired to bed on a comfortable
stomach and with a small framed photograph of his intended. Eleanor was quite
the most refined of eligible young women in his circle; ladylike and well aware
of the niceties of table-setting, the importance of crisp bed linen and
well-starched collars … Aubrey slept contentedly, his slumber only slightly
impinged upon by some distant, inconsistent background sound which he couldn’t
quite place.
B.Lloyd
Ungentle
Sleep, a ghost tale
Haunted
House Tour Full Schedule :
October 8 Guest blog
Mondays as part of the paranormal perceptions series
October 8 Promo
http://jennifermcconnel.wordpress.com/
October 9 Interview
Fang-tastic Books
Mama Knows Books
http://mamaknowsbooks.blogspot.com
October 11 Interview
Creatively Green Write at Home Mom
October 12 guest blog
Banshees, Books, & Baseball
October 13 guest blog/promo
Lisa’s World of Books
October 14 Promo
My Life Through a Book
October 15 Guest blog
Not Now...Mommy's Reading
Ungentle Sleep
B.Lloyd
Genre: paranormal/historical fiction
Publisher: Captive Press
ASIN: B008VIJFLI
Number of pages: approx 69
Word Count: 13,146
Cover Artist: B.Lloyd
Book Description:
When Aubrey Marchant's engagement to Eleanor Maydew was announced to his friends, he received mixed blessings.
‘The Maydews are a bohemian lot – not many servants, even before the War.’
‘Keen on brown bread and vegetables – don't expect too much in the way of creature comforts.’
‘Brave chap, I am sure you'll find the country air bracing.’
‘And Eleanor comes of good stock, too. Never mind the burst water pipes.’
Aubrey managed to shrug off most of these under a jocular guise. One of his closest friends however, let slip something that would come back to him later.
‘I wouldn't mind the rest of it – only I believe it may be a House of Spirits. Hope you can sleep all right at nights.’
Aubrey laughed at the time. ”
A crowded house party – with more guests on the way. Despite instructions to the contrary, the older part of the house is opened up . . .and something is inadvertently let out, to wreak mild havoc and insanity on the Maydews and their guests. That nasty incident involving Eleanor, followed by unpleasantness over Penny’s dress, and what is it Aubrey can hear, on the outer edge of his dreams?
Hysteria, missed cocktails, and something nasty in the attic.
Snrrip, snrrip. Snip, snap.
Even the rats run away.
A ghost tale, almost not quite long enough to qualify as a novelette, created in celebration of M.R.James’s 150th anniversary.
About the Author:
A Bustle attached to a keyboard, occasionally to be seen floating on a canal …
After studying Early Music followed by a brief career in concert performance, the Bustle exchanged vocal parts for less vocal arts i.e. a Diploma from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia.
Her inky mess, both graphic and verbal, can be found in various regions of the Web, and appendaged to good people’s works (for no visible reason that she can understand).
Twitter: @AuthorsANon
Google + : http://goo.gl/pbb2E
Authonomy.com: http://www.authonomy.com/writing-community/profile/c1be064a-a4fd-4ad0-b217-f4e29c07cfdd/b-lloyd/
1 comment:
Thank you for hosting me - and for the interesting questions ! :)
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