I write. A lot. I also drink too much tea. My debut YA dystopian novel, 20 Years Later, comes out later this year – a fact that still makes me grin like an idiot – and I publish two flash fiction stories on my blog every week. I’m currently writing the sequel to my novel and have just launched my professional voice acting and audio book narration service.
I’m at my best with a few hours to write my fiction, a hot cup of tea and a little bit of chocolate. I’m like a bizarre pastiche of the incredible hulk – if I don’t get these things regularly, I go a horrible colour, get really grumpy and want to smash things.
I live in Somerset, England, in a tiny town that is way past its best, and lacks its own bookshop. The countryside is beautiful though.
How long have you been writing and how did you get to this point in your career?
I started writing stories at the age of four according to my grandmother. I wrote all the time until a short story got me into Oxford University when I was 17. That created a block that lasted for ten years! Then I began to write again and the first draft of 20 Years Later poured out of me over 26 days. I barely felt in control of it. My poor husband was a writing widow.
Three years later, after over thirty rejections, I got my publishing deal and have carved out a lifestyle that enables me to write everyday. Life is good, but it took a long time to get here.
How did I get to this point? Well, the decision to start a blog in January 2009 was a huge part of it. I learned how to be comfortable with sharing my work with other people, have found an amazing group of people and finally feel part of a community. My first contact with my publisher was actually through Twitter, so I owe a lot to the joys of social media.
Tell me what inspired you to write this particular anthology?
I never set out to write an anthology, it happened organically. Last year I started a Short Story Club. Every month I invite people to submit prompts, then I pick a winning prompt and write a story from it. The winner gets to read the story first and then everyone in the club gets to read it. Members get to read a free short story every month that they have contributed to – and it’s taking off. At the time of writing this there are 204 members. They are hugely supportive and give wonderful feedback.
I realised after a few months that I had a number of stories that had gone down very well with the club, and all of them were dark. I had found my niche. I’d been writing flash stories for a few months on my blog and realised that I had accidentally created an anthology.
I named it From Dark Places after the first story in the anthology – the first written for the short story club in fact. It fits well.
I have a keen interest in dark fiction. Tell me how you would classify this book and what’s dark about it?
Dark fiction is exactly how I would classify From Dark Places. The stories feature people caught in crisis, subject to the influence of frightening forces – both within and from without – and who are struggling to find a way through. The stories are gritty, fantastical, some are lighter than others, but all deal with dark themes such as loss, revenge, the brutality of selfish love and the desire to have power over another’s life.
Sometimes we have to be ruthless in writing/editing. We cut scenes, eliminate characters or even kill them off. Tell me what was the hardest of these in this book.
I didn’t have that problem so much in the anthology, I think because of the way I approach short story writing – I don’t start writing until I have the shape of the story straight in my head.
However, I do know it well in my novel writing and have made some agonising decisions. The first draft was told from the perspective of an active narrator – someone who witnessed the events – but it simply didn’t work. It distanced the reader and I realised it was actually a crutch for me. He was pushed into footnotes in a later draft, but his prologue and epilogue left in place. In the final draft that’s going to print, he is gone from the main body of the book altogether.
There are also scenes that I’ve loved but had to cut because they were indulgent – just because I loved them didn’t mean they could stay and slow the pace down.
This blog is called Random Musings, so give me a random quote from the book – something you’re particularly fond of.
This is a snippet of conversation between two characters in a coffee shop.
He winced. "The last one was a disaster."What can we expect from you next?
"The Cultural Revolution was not a disaster!"
He glanced at the woman at the next table who had looked over at the outburst. "Keep your voice down, beloved."
She laughed and glared at the woman who looked away with all the British embarrassment bred into her for generations. "It wasn't a disaster," she whispered across the table in a mock conspiratorial tone.
"Millions died!"
"But it was so interesting."
I am writing the sequel to 20 Years Later now, and at the time of this interview I’m just over a third into the book. I also write a piece of flash fiction (1000 words or less) every Friday on my blog as part of the #Fridayflash Twitter community.
I am also writing a serial that is building the world and sowing plot seeds for the trilogy I plan to write when the 20 Years Later trilogy is finished. I have committed to a year and a day of stories in that world, published every Tuesday on my blog. I’m almost half way through that year now. It’s set in the Split Worlds and is quirky urban fantasy. This is how I recently described it to a friend:
Tales From The Split Worlds: Where tea and good manners meet spiteful fairies and the political machinations of powerful dynastic families.
You can find the index to the stories here.
I almost have enough stories to bring out From Dark Places Volume 2 soon.
Where can we find you on the internet?
My blog can be found at www.enewman.co.uk and I am @emapocalyptic on Twitter.
From Dark Places can be found on Amazon for the Kindle and on Smashwords for all other e-book formats.
My publisher created a Facebook page for 20 Years Later too.
Any final comments or thoughts?
Self-promotion can be agonising, so I wanted to say thank you for the opportunity to talk about what I do as a writer, and about my anthology. I really don’t want to become one of those authors who only shouts about their own book so I end up over-compensating and not mentioning it at all. Having the chance to talk about it without that risk is most welcome.
You’re very welcome! I really enjoy doing these interviews. I learn a lot from other authors.
Best of luck, Emma, with From Dark Places and your sequels!
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