Aaron Hamburger - Author Interview: Short Story Writer

What kinds of fiction did you read as a child and teenager, and did you have some favourites?

I read a great deal of fairy tales, especially the Oz stories by L. Frank Baum. I also enjoyed Anne of Green Gables and the Little House on the Prairie series. I've recently given all these books a reread, and they really bear up!

Would you say your childhood and teenage reading has had a distinct influence on how you write fiction now, and why?

I think my early reading gave me a healthy respect for character and plot. Literary writing is not just about lyrical passages of description intended to impress the reader with your verbal dexterity. Actually, for me the greater accomplishment in prose is writing that serves character, plot, and setting without calling too much attention to itself.

Pick one of your favourites among your fiction stories or a story which is an interesting example from your fiction. What makes this story one of your favourites or an interesting example of your fiction?

It's hard to pick one story as a favorite. For me my favorite work is whatever I'm working on right at the moment because that's where my energy is most concentrated. For me, writing is about the process.
The end product, the "finished" story is almost like a souvenir or record of that process, the way a Jackson Pollock painting is a souvenir of Pollock's wandering around his canvas dripping paint.
When I stop working on a story, it isn't because it's finished, but rather because I'm finished.

Who is another author whose fiction writing you admire and why?

Dead: E M. Forster because I find his writing so elegant and so wise. Living: J. M. Coetzee for much the same reason. What both these writers have in common is an ability to combine emotion with intellect, plainspoken sentences with sudden bursts of beauty.

How would you summarise one of your short stories in one paragraph?

I've been working on a new story, "The Golden Mushroom," about a gay teenager who thinks he's obsessed with food and then transfers that obsession to a washroom attendant at an expensive restaurant.

How would you describe the appeal of this short story to readers?

Anyone who's experienced the inchoate feelings of desire as a teenager should be able to relate to the protagonist's attempts to figure out who he likes and why.

How would you summarise a scene or sub-section from this short story in one paragraph?

At the end of the story, the main character realizes that he's not going to get anywhere with this washroom attendant. He stuffs himself with food from McDonald's which makes him sick, so he throws up on the side of the road. He has a mint that the attendant gave him, which he was going to save as a love-token, but instead he sucks on it slowly, and imagines that for now, this is how love tastes.

How would you describe the contribution this scene or sub-section makes to the short story?

It brings it to a sense of emotional completion, not by tying up loose ends, but by gesturing toward the future, leaving the reader with an image and a sensory detail that stops rather than ends the action.

Do you aspire to primarily write novels in the future, or are you more interested in writing short stories, and why?

I think I'll always write both, but I'm not sure if I'll do another book of short stories. First, they're very hard to sell. Second, I prefer developing the world of the novel, relaxing into it slowly and having the time and space to explore it in depth.

Do you read many short story anthologies, and why?

I do because I love short fiction.

What lengths of short stories do you usually write, and why?

Usually about 20 pages. Any more than that and I think I'm going on for too long. I think a story ought to be something that can be read in one sitting. However, I'm no good at writing stories under 10 pages. I guess I have too much to say.

Do you submit for many short story competitions, anthologies and magazines, and what are your main motivations for this?

I do. My main motivation is to have my work out there, being read, not simply sitting on the hard drive of my computer.

Author website: www.aaronhamburger.com



Cat Patrick - Author Interview: Teen/Young Adult Novelist

What kinds of fiction did you read as a teenager, and did you have some favourites?

If I'm being honest, as a teen, I read mostly what was required in school. I read a ton as a young child but then got caught up in school/life/friendships/relationships and the books most unfortunately took a back seat. That said, in high school, we were required to choose an author for a semester-long project, reading and analyzing several of his/her works. I chose Ray Bradbury and he continues to be one of my favorites.

Would you say your reading as a teenager has had a distinct influence on how you write fiction now, and why?

Yes. I always preferred the more "out there" premises--as long as they still had a clear message to convey--and that is what I enjoy writing the most now, too.

What did you do before you became a published teen/young adult novelist, and how did you come to write your first teen/young adult novel and get it published?

I worked in public relations for thirteen years before getting the idea for FORGOTTEN. I'd always wanted to be a writer, and throughout my life, I wrote poetry, short stories and several attempts at novels. After the birth of my twins in 2008, I forgot what I was doing in the middle of an activity, then began thinking of amnesia...and amnesia in high school. The idea for a girl who remembers the future instead of the past just popped into my brain. I began writing that day, and finished the first draft of FORGOTTEN less than three months later. I queried my top pick agent and he got back very quickly--I attribute that to having the right story and the right pitch at the right time. He and I worked together to fine-tune the book until it went to auction six months later; after that, it sold to twenty one foreign territories and the movie rights were purchased by Paramount. It's been an amazing experience--I consider myself incredibly lucky because I know the process is not always as smooth as mine was.

How would you describe your style of teen/young adult fiction or your approach to writing teen/young adult fiction?

My style is fairly straightforward: I'm not an overly poetic writer. I like to tell approachable stories of teens with strange lives that are similar to the lives of teens in our world today so that they can relate, without hitting them over the head with "the moral of the story."

Who is another author whose teen/young adult fiction you admire and why?

I admire Maggie Stiefvater, the author of The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy and others. I'm not a poetic writer but she is, and I love diving into her dreamlike worlds. She makes science fiction style ideas seem completely normal, and her novels are timeless.

How would you summarise one of your teen/young adult novels in one paragraph?

FORGOTTEN is the story of London Lane, a teen who remembers the future instead of the past. The book chronicles her school and home life, and relationships, with her strange condition, and challenges London to solve the mystery of her past so that she can move forward with her future.

How would you describe the appeal of this novel to teen/young adult readers?

Though London has a made-up condition, I think she's relatable to teens because she has many of the same feelings (awkwardness, isolation, confusion about how to handle ethical dilemmas, etc.). I've heard from many readers that she feels "real," like someone they'd go to school with.

How would you summarise a chapter from this novel in one paragraph?

The book opens on a typical day for London Lane. She's arrived at school in the morning with no memory of yesterday or the days before, and without her cell phone, which normally helps keep her on track. She remembers what's going to happen tomorrow and beyond, but that doesn't help her when she goes to dress for PE and she's missing a T-shirt. Thankfully, a friend loans her one; most unfortunately, the loaner's not fashionable to say the least, and London won't be happy to be wearing it when she meets the new guy at school, Luke Henry. London doesn't remember Luke, so he won't be in her future. Or will he?

How would you describe the contribution this chapter makes to the novel?

This chapter sets the stage for the entire novel--it starts to explain London's condition to readers and also hooks them with the romance aspect very early on.

To what extent would you say fiction written primarily for young readers is different from fiction written primarily for adult readers?

YA fiction as a category is as diverse as adult fiction; I'd say the biggest difference is that the protagonist is usually a young adult himself/herself.

Author website: www.catpatrick.com



Elspeth Cooper - Author Interview: Debut Novelist

What kinds of fiction did you read as a child and teenager, and did you have some favourites?

As a child I loved anything to do with myths and legends, like the twelve labours of Hercules, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Ivanhoe etc. Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising sequence was a firm favourite, with its combination of myth and modern (modern for the time it was written, anyway!) and its roots deep in the fertile soil of legendary Albion.

Would you say your childhood and teenage reading has had a distinct influence on how you write fiction now, and why?

I don't know that it has influenced the "how" so much as the "what": my reading taste is eclectic and varied, but there has always been a thread of otherworldly adventure through it, right from the earliest books I remember reading unaided, so no wonder I ended up a fantasy writer. Or was I always going to be a fantasy writer, and my choice of reading material reflected this? Hmm. Chicken, meet egg.

What did you do before you became a published novelist, and how did you come to write your first novel and get it published?

I'd been writing off and on since I was a teenager, but never really thought to myself "I know, I'm going to write a book!" Scenes and characters just evolved as I played around with them. In 1997 some personal problems left me wrestling with a huge amount of emotion that I couldn't express without doing something horribly destructive (we're talking waaay beyond just smashing the crockery, here). Sitting up one night unable to sleep, I started writing about a person in the dark, struggling with a force inside that they couldn't control, and lo, Songs of the Earth was born.

Working around my job in IT, I finished the manuscript over the next decade. Life got in the way quite a bit - as life is wont to do - but by 2007 it was done. I edited it hard, and in 2009 sent submissions to 8 literary agents I'd researched. The second one said yes. A month later, I was a Gollancz author.

How would you describe your style of fiction or your approach to writing fiction?

It's difficult to put a label on my style when I've only got two books written to date (I'm not one of those writers with loads of "trunk novels" under the bed), but I suppose you could say it's pacy, character-driven fantasy adventure.

My approach to writing is very organic: right-brain, seat-of-the-pants, instinctive - the sort of approach that gives a fit of the vapours to more method-driven writers, the kind with chapter plans, a pin-board full of 3x5 index cards and twelve different-coloured pens.

Is your first published novel standalone or part of a series, and what advantages or disadvantages does this present for you?

It's the first of a series, The Wild Hunt Trilogy. The advantages of writing a series are many: I get to spend longer with characters I love, I have room to let them and their world grow and develop in a natural fashion, and I can explore more layers in their story than I would have had room for in a standalone. Oh, and it gave me a three-book contract ;o)

The flipside is that I have to put new ideas on the back burner until the series is finished, and there is a nagging fear that if it dies on its feet at the end of book 2, I can't exactly change horses, I have to see it through to the end whatever happens. I've always known I would write all the installments of this story, but that was when I had only myself and my characters to answer to. Now there's a major publisher involved, and an audience for my work, so there are certain unavoidable commercial aspects to consider.

Have you found writing your second novel easier or more challenging than writing your first novel and why?

It's been challenging, for a variety of reasons. Now that the first one's out there, I can't go back and fiddle with it to add in foreshadowing, or set up a new plot twist or whatever. Characters' conflicts and personalities have to grow organically from what has gone before. I also don't have the liberty of 13 years to polish the damn thing!

In some ways it's been easier too: as a storyteller, I have a better idea what I'm doing now, though I'd be happier if it had made me a bit faster. That pesky internal editor keeps butting in . . .

Who is another novelist whose fiction writing you admire and why?

I'm a big fan of Joe Abercrombie - he does grim black humour and morally ambiguous characters so well, and even the bad guys are interesting and intelligently drawn. Inquisitor Glotka - need I say any more?

How would you summarise your debut novel in one paragraph?

Gair can hear the songs of the earth and in the eyes of the Church, that makes him a witch. Sentenced to die at the stake, he escapes the Holy City and goes on the run, looking for the Guardians of the Veil, who are the only people who can teach him how to control the power of the Song inside him before he accidentally kills himself with it. When he finds them, he discovers that the world does not work quite the way the Church would have him believe: heaven is not above, hell is not below, and the Veil between there and here is about to fall.

How would you describe the appeal of this novel to readers?

It'll keep you turning the pages - and possibly keep you up past your bedtime, too.

How would you summarise a chapter from your debut novel in one paragraph?

Gair is alone in the dark in an iron-walled cell, praying as he wrestles with the magic inside him that is threatening to get out of control. He's frightened and not entirely in his right mind when the guards arrive to drag him off to judgement. Meanwhile, the mysterious Alderan is spying on the proceedings at which Gair is due to be sentenced. He is shocked and angry at what has been done to the prisoner, and mourns how far the Church Knights have fallen from their ideals. In the final scene, the head of the Knights hands down the verdict.

How would you describe the contribution this chapter makes to the novel?

This is the opening chapter, so the reader meets the hero in medias res, up to his ears in trouble and facing an awful fate. It establishes the bones of his character and the initial conflict which will lead him through the rest of the book. It also introduces two other characters who will become significant later, and hints that all is not what it seems to be.

Author website: http://www.elspethcooper.com/