fantasy writer
It’s Christmas Eve and time to switch off until the new year. Looking back, it’s been a wonderful year with the birth of Magic Bound (plus a magical new book cover for Haven Wakes) and the continued support of readers like you.
So before I dive into the excitement and busy-ness of the big day, I’d just like to say, ‘thank you’ and wish you the most fabulous, festive break. Here’s to the kind of new year that brings out the best in and for us all.
Photo by Andreea Radu on Unsplash
It’s the third and final of my December author interviews. This time it’s the turn of author, poet, and all round author helper, Lily Lawson. Her children’s picture book, Santa’s Early Christmas is no. 17 of my 24 recommended reads this month.
My interview with Lily
I know you as a poet, Lily, so what led you to write a children’s picture book?
I have written a few bits and pieces for children, accidentally you might say, from prompts. I tend to just go with wherever the prompt takes me. My children’s poems were well received so it made sense to explore the possibility of publishing them.
I used to write poems for my parents in their cards. Santa’s Early Christmas started out as a poem for my dad and one of the additional ones as a poem for my mam. The Santa poem has been edited to make it suitable for children. The original one will be a freebie in one of my December editions of Life with Lily.
What a lovely story. Do you think you’ll write more books for children?
There’s another one on the way. It’s at the editing stage. I expect to publish in early 2023. I would like to publish more at some point in the future.
Getting back to you as a poet, will you release any poetry collections in 2023?
I do intend to publish another collection in 2023. I am unsure of the details at the moment but once I have published my next book I will decide.
What have been your favourite reads in 2022?
I will be announcing my Lily award winners and there are some hard choices. Unforgettable by R E Loten, and And then she fell by Dreena Collins both definitely deserve a mention. I have read a lot of poetry this year and a fair few short stories so there is a lot of competition in those categories. I have been surprised at what I have found myself reading at times, I love that.
What does the festive season look like for you and yours?
Nowadays things are much quieter than they used to be. We have simplified things a lot since my childhood Christmas’ of squashing into my nana’s and everyone hosting some sort of celebration. My dad and I will eat Christmas food and catch some festive TV.
Sounds like a lovely Christmas to me. Thanks for talking to my readers, Lily. Here’s to a fabulous festive break for you and your dad.
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If you’d like to find out more about Lily and her writing, here are all the links:
It’s time for the second of my festive author interviews and today it’s the turn of action and sci fi author, Suzanna Williams. Suzanna is also a good friend and fellow Wales resident.
What’s more her latest novel, Five percent Alien is out today. Five percent Alien is the follow-up to YA sci fi read Ninety Five percent Human which is a personal favourite of mine. Five percent Alien is also today’s book recommendation.
My interview with Suzanna
I read your novel Ninety-five percent Human a few years back now and loved it. I can’t wait to read the follow-up, Five Percent Alien. Without giving up too much information, tell me what I can expect when I get my hands on a copy.
Glad you liked Ninety-five percent Human. In Five percent Alien you can expect:
Did you enjoy revisiting the characters of Joe and Sarah?
Joe and Sarah have always been special to me. I loved the idea that the farmer from Wales rescues and falls in love with an alien.
Ninety-five percent Human was all about Joe figuring out Sarah’s alien-hybrid secret, and Five percent Alien sees them trying to keep that secret. I have thoroughly enjoyed being really mean to them, throwing them problem after problem and watching them squirm.
But the most fun is getting jokes from Jake the evolving robot. I’m a terrible comedian, so the one-liners in the book must be coming from Jake himself, right?
Ninety-five percent Human and the follow-up novel aren’t your only books. What else have you written?
I also have a YA trilogy called ShockWaves, which is an action thriller. I’m really excited right now because I’ve just had a new book trailer made. I’m not promoting it until the new year, but your readers can have a sneaky preview (click on the image below).
What have been your favourite reads in 2022?
My unexpected favourite book this year has been The Last Whale by Chris Vick. This is an upper middle grade/YA book, but it is sooooooo much more. I was blown away with the storytelling and the important message it holds. Told over three generations of a family in Norway, it’s simultaneously old-fashioned and futuristic, a gentle story yet exciting. Everyone of all ages should read this book. Yes, I’m totally fan-girling. Just read it.
What does the festive season look like for you and yours?
After a few co-vid Christmases where my family have been kept apart, I’m looking forward to getting together with my children and grandchildren this year. We squeeze everyone round our table, eat too much, and invariably end up having a musical play-along on Christmas night.
Alongside the presents and hyped up craziness, Christmas can bring a lot of difficult emotions for many people, so I’d like to wish you and all your readers a healthy, peaceful and prosperous new year filled with many hours of reading wonderful books.
That’s very true, Suzanna. All the best to you and yours this festive season and thank you for talking to my readers today.
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If you’d like to find out more about Suzanna and all her books, here are the links:
It’s December and that can only mean one thing – author interviews and plenty of them. Well, actually three of them, starting today with fellow Burning Chair author Andrew Neil MacLeod. Andrew is a writer of dark, gothic, historical tales.
His first novel, The Fall of the House of Thomas Weir, is today’s book recommendation on my social media channels (window no. 7).
His second novel, The Stone of Destiny, was published on Halloween this year.
My interview with Andrew
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your first novel, The Fall of the House of Thomas Weir, with its paranormal slant on historical Edinburgh. Once I get my Christmas money, I’ll be treating myself to the follow up novel. Without giving too much away, what can I expect when I get my hands on a copy of The Stone of Destiny?
Thank you! In the second novel the canvas broadens, and the two friends embark on their long-anticipated tour of the Scottish Highlands in search of the titular stone. Concocting a cover story that they’re touring around Scotland’s Neolithic sites, they head for Scone, the first stop in a perilous quest to uncover the truth. Of course, they are not the only ones looking, and soon find themselves shadowed by a mysterious religious sect known as the Culdee. It quickly becomes apparent to our heroes that they’ve left behind the cosy certainties of their old lives and entered a realm where dark magic, perverted science and sheer terror lurk around every corner.
That sounds right up my alley – I can’t wait. How did it feel to revisit the characters of Johnson and Boswell?
In one sense it’s like slipping into an old, familiar pair of slippers. But I can’t get lazy. I wanted to avoid doing a straight homage or pastiche of Holmes and Watson. Ostensibly the parallels are all there: Johnson, like Holmes, is a polymath, and James Boswell is his best friend and biographer. But the real Johnson and Boswell were considerable figures in their own right, and I wanted to do that justice. I also wanted to give them each a character arc, rather than presenting a series of adventures to be read in any order. The biggest challenge was to make their dialogue convincing. Both men were highly erudite and considerable wits, but I didn’t want to make them sound stuffy or elitist.
That’s two books down. Can we expect more from Johnson and Boswell?
I’m already well into their third adventure, in which the cast of characters from books one and two converge in Johnson’s spiritual home of London for the denouement. We also meet Johnson’s deadliest nemesis yet, the mysterious Doctor Cagliostro and his Cabinet of Curiosities. I can even give you a bit of an exclusive, Fi. The third and final part of the trilogy will be called (drum roll…) The Casebook of Johnson and Boswell Vol. III: The Curse of Scotland.
What have been your favourite reads in 2022?
Honestly? Between the day job, doing edits for volume II, and the mentally corroding effects of the internet, I’ve hardly had any time for reading. I have a TBR list as long as my arm, including many fellow indy authors I look forward to reading as soon as I get a moment. When I get some free time this Christmas I also hope to tick some books off my bucket list, including Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea cycle, and Scottish writer George MacDonald, a pioneer of the fantasy genre who inspired writers such as J.R.R. Tolkien and CS Lewis. I’ve already read some of their shorter stories, and look forward to the main course.
What does the festive season look like for you and yours?
We’re a pretty small family unit – just my wife Amber and myself, and a little dog called Alex. We’re big kids at heart, and had our tree up early in November. I’m just looking forward to some down time. We live in the UAE and the weather is perfect this time of year, so I doubt we’ll be traveling back to Scotland any time soon. I’m looking forward to long walks with the dog, some home-cooking, sipping mulled wine on our balcony, and listening to Rod Stewart’s Christmas album in our matching sweaters (okay the last part is a bit of an exaggeration, but not much).
Sounds like a perfect Christmas to me. Thanks, Andrew.
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If you’d like to find out more about Andrew and his novels, here are all the links: