Woohoo! September is turning out to be THE month to be an in-progress or querying writer! In addition to #PitchMadness and #CAGI, I'm also thrilled to be a part of Deana Barnhart's #GUTGAA (Gearing Up to Get an Agent) Blogfest and Pitch Contest. The first stage of the contest is called the Meet and Greet and is a chance to do the ol' "Getting to know you, getting to know all about you..." with other amazing writers. Make sure to check out all the authors in the Meet and Greet here. And now for me!
Where's the beef???
My path to becoming a writer follows a much more Indiana Jones-ey and Don Draper-ey route than others...
I spent my university days as an archaeologist, digging for artifacts in Jordan and riding camels in the Wadi Rum. It was at university, though, where I fell in love with classical mythology, and so I try to work themes and archetypes from my favourite myths into my stories whenever I can :) Recently, I've taken to the world of advertising, and so brands, insights, and consumer behaviour have become my forte (not to mention the odd rum or two). Now if only I could figure out agent behaviour, then I'd really be onto something!
Most of my writing in the last while has been focused on YA sci-fi/fantasy, though I have a lot of heart for dystopian tales, and am really proud of the short story collection I finished. Now, on to the questions!
Where do you write?
Everywhere! I'm in love with my MacBook Air and the lightness of it helps me write wherever I need to to find inspiration. My favourite spots: the backyard patio, on the couch, and the Himayalan Java Cafe.
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| Source: Yelp.ca |
Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see?
A canoe. A miniature one, yes. But a canoe.
Favorite time to write?
After midnight. Seems to be the time when my head is clearest, and I can focus on the writing sprints that I so love to do (a bit of sarcasm there). 12 - 4 AM is optimal sprinting time!
Drink of choice while writing?
I'm a slave for coffee, the darker the roast, the better. Keeps my fingers flyin'.
When writing, do you listen to music or do you need complete silence?
When writing certain scenes, I love zoning in with a great soundtrack from a movie. My favourite soundtracks to write to are those from TRON: Legacy and Avatar (epic sci-fi, duh!!!). I don't know how I could have written a recent space battle scene without the Star Wars soundtracks to get my blood pumping!
What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it?
For PERIAPSIS, a YA sci-fi/fantasy in which a boy travels to a planet in the sky, it was the discovery of the "exoplanet odd couple" Kepler-36: a star system with two planets that periodically cross orbits. Hello inspiration!
What's your most valuable writing tip?
Experiment with writing styles. When writing my dystopian sci-fi collection, IN-FUTURA, I experimented with different perspectives, structures, themes, and voice, pushing myself to try something new with each new story, and it really helped me develop my comfort level as a writer.
Thanks for meeting and greeting me, and I hope to see more of everyone as #GUTGAA carries on. Where's the beef???