Today I’m pleased to welcome author W.R. Gingell to the blog. I hope you enjoy getting to meet W.R.!
1. What made you decide to start writing fantasy?
That was an easy decision. They say write what you know, and if you had asked my parents, they would have told you that I was always living in a fantasy world. Or perhaps it was just because I read so much fantasy. Whichever one it was, fantasy was my first choice, though I’ve also made small forays into Scifi, and will hopefully publish my first Christian YA by the end of 2017.
2.What is the hardest part and the easiest part about writing fantasy?
Hardest part…hmmm…probably the hardest part about writing fantasy is that at some point, you have to leave your imagination and live in the real world. ’Cos let’s be honest, if we could live in a world with dragons and dirigibles, why wouldn’t we?
More seriously, the easiest part of it all is probably the ideas. People so often ask me where I come up with the ideas, and honestly, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have ideas. I have so many of ’em that I don’t think I’ll run out of ideas to write before I run out of life to live.
3. What inspired your latest story, Lady of Dreams (a Korean-based fantasy)?
Ha! I LAY THE FAULT AT KDRAMA’S DOORS!
Seriously, though, I’d just discovered KDrama and all the dreadful and delicious tropes that come with it. One of those tropes happens to be that the 2nd male lead NEVER GETS THE GIRL. This bugs me on several different levels (I have a thing where I quite often love the side-characters more the the MCs, and basically, 2nd male leads are almost always my favourite type of characters) and it bugged me more than usual with one of the KDramas I watched. My little squishy wasn’t given the happy ending I thought he deserved, so I wrote the happy ending I would have written for him.
Aaaaand then it was a whole book, and when you’ve got a whole book, what else are you gonna do but try and publish it?
4. I am a huge fan of Peter Pan and it seems like you are as well. What is your favorite part of Peter Pan’s story?
Oh yes! Peter Pan has always been a favourite of mine (I still have a rewrite to do, starring Peter). I think my favourite part of that story was how self-absorbed and forgetful Peter was. I mean, they’re flying to Neverland, and he takes his eyes off the others for a few seconds, and bam! He wonders who they are and what they’re doing there. And then there’s how downright savage book-Tink is. I approve.
Actually, I think my favourite line from the story is the line that goes: “they just tweaked Peter’s nose and passed on”, spoken of a couple of drunk fairies who just, yanno, pinched Peter Pan’s nose on their way home because why not?
5. What are your favorite ways to connect with readers?
Twitter has been great for me: it’s quick and fun and very emoji friendly. I love getting emails from my readers as well, though, and I’ve gotten tons of FB messages through my Author Page. I’ll reply to pretty much anything except spammers (I’m no James Veitch), though I will occasionally mock bot spammers on my blog.
6. If you could make everyone read one book and one book only by an author other than yourself, what book would it be and why?
This question is pretty much every reader’s torture. I mean, there are SO MANY. And then there’s the choice between favourite classic and favourite modern day authors…
But I’mma go with one of my new(ish) faves, that I always shout about (because Indie Author, yay!) and that is the very whimsical, very charming, and altogether hilarious little fantasy romance, Kingdom of Ruses by Kate Stradling. Kate Stradling is the author I want to be when I grow up.
7. What is the best advice you would give to young writers?
Read. Reaaaad. REEEEEAAAAD. Reading is basically the life-bringing osmosis of the writing world. When you first start reading you’ll read pretty much anything so long as the story is good. When you first start writing, you’ll read your own stuff and wonder: “Is this really good writing?”
But as you read and read through the years, you’ll become more discerning, more picky about what you read; and then one day you won’t have to ask what good writing is. You’ll know it when you see it. And you’ll be able to do it, because you’ll have made a diet of good writing. To thoroughly confuse another metaphor: You are what you eat.
About the Author:
W.R. Gingell is a Tasmanian author who lives in a house with a green door. She loves to rewrite fairytales with a twist or two–and a murder or three–and original fantasy where dragons, enchantresses, and other magical creatures abound. Occasionally she will also dip her toes into the waters of SciFi.
W.R. spends her time reading, drinking an inordinate amount of tea, and slouching in front of the fire to write. Like Peter Pan, she never really grew up, and is still occasionally to be found climbing trees.
Connect with W.R. on her website, Twitter, or Facebook.
About the Book:
Confined to her couch, Clovis Sohn spends her days and nights dreaming, drifting further away from the outside world with each passing day. But Clovis’s dreams are also real, giving her a glimpse into the lives of those around her… When a moment of unthinking sympathy twines Clovis’s dreams with the bored, playful composer Yong-hwa, she must decide whether to keep dreaming in the comfort of her chaise lounge, or to awaken into a reality that is by no means so sure or familiar as her dreams.
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