Interview with Patricia Smith.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
When the story starts to take on its own life. At first, when I look at the screen, at the start of a novel and only have Prologue or Chapter One written and I know I have an entire story to write, it’s quite scary but, as the story starts to take on its own life, it begins to write itself. I quite often start out with an idea of where the plot is going to go, but as the story and characters develop it can quite often go off in a direction I didn’t plan because the original idea no longer feels right.
What are you working on next?
I’m presently working on the first novel of a trilogy, called, Islands Beneath the Sea. I’m hoping it will be finished around about Easter and released not long after. Once that is finished I will be writing the third novel in the Distant Suns series.
When you’re not writing, how do you spend your time?
I love going hill walking and mountain biking. It’s also lovely to catch up with friends whenever possible because they are so important to me and it’s too easy to get completely lost in my work if I’m not careful. I also love astronomy. I’m usually out until awful o’clock in the morning freezing under the stars. My husband sometimes wakes up to find me hanging out the bedroom window because I spotted Jupiter or Saturn or I’m watching for some shooting stars.
How do you discover the ebooks you read?
Some are recommended, some I find by accident when searching for something else and others are found through my interests.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
The first story I ever wrote was a children’s story called, The Tunnels. It was the sort of children’s story that adults seemed to love. I sent it off to a publisher who ran a critique service and they wrote back saying that whatever I did I wasn’t to stop writing, but they suggested I wrote for the adult market. The next story I wrote, for the adult market, was Time Split.
What do you read for pleasure?
I mostly read SF and horror for pleasure, although this can lead to some bazaar dreams as I prefer to read late at night, just before bed. I’m quite a slow reader so it can take me some time to work my way through a novel, which is nice because often I don’t want them to end. The most recent books I’ve read have been World War Z and Doctor Sleep.
What book marketing techniques have been most effective for you?
My website: www.timesplit.co.uk and word of mouth. I try to update my site regularly, it’s so tempting to just get engrossed in the writing and to shut out the world, so that I can keep my readers up to date with my work, any recent reviews and what I’ve been up to.
Describe your desk.
Until recently I worked in what I called ‘The Bomb Site’. Then we did some home improvements and it evolved into my office. There is now plenty of bench space along the walls, two book cases and a DVD and CD shelf. It’s also the place where I store my telescope and on the wall I have my beautiful picture of Jupiter taken my Cassini. I’m also kept company, as I work, by at least one cat. Oscar, my tom cat, likes to come into the study and lie under the radiator (it’s a hard life) and Lucy sometimes joins us, although she’s usually there to remind me I haven’t played with her for the last half hour.
When did you first start writing?
I’ve been writing stories off and on since I was eight, but I started more seriously when I was twenty one. I kept saying to my mum about being a writer and she said, “Stop talking about it and do it.” She was so right. It was then I wrote, The Tunnels, my children’s story. It would a while before I moved on to writing an adult novel. I dabbled briefly in a detective/thriller story and tried a steamy romance before I finally settled on apocalyptic thrillers.
What’s the story behind your latest book?
The book I’m presently working on is called Islands Beneath the Sea.
500 scientists and their families take part in an experiment to investigate the possibility of populating the sea and ocean beds. Three months into the project, a war breaks out on the surface and soon after people start to become ill. When the resident’s later lose all contact, they hope it is an equipment malfunction. Five volunteers decide to go back to the surface to check out what’s going on.
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